Andy Thibault

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Cool Justice 
Probable Cause, Ice Cream And The Truth
By ANDY THIBAULT, Columnist
Law Tribune Newspapers
March 28, 2005

The state police detective put away all kinds of criminals in a distinguished career: mobsters, drug dealers and assorted thieves. As he tells young people and colleagues in private security about the importance of observation and critical thinking, one case brings the point home. It's the case of the ice cream and the carload of kids.

It was a quiet night, early in his career, for Resident State Trooper Jerry Longo. A good time to catch up on paperwork. Then came the urgent call.

A worker at an ice cream distributor reported he saw a carload of youngsters fleeing with a quantity of ice cream in hand. They were laughing. As he stood on the loading dock, the worker got their license plate before they sped away.

The point is that the worker accurately reported what he saw.

Longo dutifully recorded the information and began his pursuit of the alleged perpetrators. At a nearby convenience store, he came upon the carload of youngsters. The license plate matched. They were eating ice cream.

Did Longo believe he had probable cause to arrest the alleged ice cream snatchers? He certainly did. Might he have gained convictions after arresting the group? Certainly there are those who have been convicted on less information.

For a moment, though, Longo stepped back and thought about the case. He thought about the youngsters and the impact of arrests and probable convictions on their lives. Was this really a clear-cut case? Freeze frame.

"The article in the local paper," Longo speculated, " might have read, `Four Tolland teens arrested for theft.' This would have altered their lives forever and left mine untouched because I did my job -- but not perfectly. I would have thought a little less of our youth and they would have resented the very system -- fought and died for on many continents -- that was designed to protect them."

Then, Longo noticed something odd. A worker at the convenience store kept carrying large containers of something to the dumpster. The containers were full of ice cream. Longo interviewed the convenience store worker. "My freezer went out," this worker told Longo. "I called my boss, and at a certain point he said to toss the stuff, we could write it off as spoilage. These kids came in and said, `Don't throw all that out, we'll eat some. So, I gave them each a container.' "

The youngsters were next on the interview list. Their story conformed to what Longo had just heard - with an additional twist.

They had pulled in to the distributor's lot because they saw another youth carrying ice cream containers from the building. He was running away. They laughed uproariously because they thought he was stupid. Then they peeled out.

The dock worker neglected to mention he had been distracted by a phone call. It was when he returned from the call that he noticed the ice cream gone and the youths driving.

"What I try to tell young folks, old folks whatever," Longo said, "is that looking through or into the eyes of law enforcement we have to get it right. Now, being a force operated by humans that is impossible. But it is possible to strive for that perfection.

"What you see or hear may not actually be the truth," he continued. "The way the aftermath of the information guys and gals like myself is reported also should be considered carefully. Check your facts. When satisfied, check them again. An old carpenter once told me, `Measure twice, cut once.' "

Longo went home that night with several fewer arrests - and his community well served.

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