United States v. Daryl John Christian

When, during the course of an investigatory stop pursuant to Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 , 88 S.Ct. 1868 , 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), may police demand to know a suspect’s true identity?

Facts

Responding to a complaint that a man was brandishing a firearm in an apartment building, Seattle police officers met with the complainant, Quillan Small (age 15), and her mother, Karen Kosner. Small was hysterical. Once she calmed down, she told the officers that her mother’s boyfriend — a man she called Mr. James— had waved a gun at her during an argument. Kosner was reluctant to corroborate the story and offered very little information. A few minutes later, the officers received word by radio from other responding officers that the suspect (now known to be defendant Daryl John Christian) was in the building.

Upon locating Christian, the officers advised him that they were investigating a complaint involving a gun and asked him for identification. He said that he had no identification on him, but volunteered the name Rick James and the birth date of November 23, 1951. He also said that he lived in the building, a few floors above Kosner and Small. After confirming with Kosner that her…