Case: Robbery (Knife) – s. 344(1)(b) CC Suspect: Brandon Scott (19) Interviewer: Cst. K. Malcolm (Primary) Strategy: "Addiction-Driven Desperation" (Normalization) + "Minimization of Violence" (Intent)

iNTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

START TIME: 23:15 hrs LOCATION: District 3 – Interview Room 1 PRESENT: Cst. Malcolm, Cst. Yee (Monitoring/Silent), Suspect (Brandon Scott)

(SCENE SETTING: The room is set up for a "vulnerable suspect." The table is clear. Cst. Malcolm sits at a 45-degree angle, removing the physical barrier. Brandon is slumped in the chair, wearing a grey prisoner jumpsuit (clothes seized). He looks pale, sweaty, and his pupils are pinpoint—signs of opioid use/early withdrawal. He is shivering slightly.)

CST. MALCOLM: Hey Brandon. I appreciate you sitting down with me. I know it’s late and I know you’re probably not feeling 100% right now.

SCOTT: (Mumbles, looking at floor) I’m freezing.

CST. MALCOLM: Yeah, I can see you shivering. The holding cells are always cold. Let me grab the thermostat here and bump it up a bit. (Adjusts wall thermostat). I’ll get you a blanket in a minute if you need one. Can I get you a water or a juice box?

SCOTT: Water.

CST. MALCOLM: Cst. Yee, can you grab a water? Thanks. (Cst. Yee leaves and returns with water. Brandon drinks it quickly.)

CST. MALCOLM: Brandon, before we get into anything, we need to handle the legal stuff. I know the arresting officer read you your rights, and I know you spoke to Legal Aid duty counsel at 23:02 hours. Is that correct?

SCOTT: Yeah.

CST. MALCOLM: Okay. I need to make sure we are on the same page. You understand that you do not have to say anything to me? You have the right to remain silent.

SCOTT: Yeah, the lawyer said that.

CST. MALCOLM: Good lawyer. You also have the right to speak to a lawyer again if you feel you need to during this conversation. Do you understand that?

SCOTT: Yeah.

CST. MALCOLM: (Operating Mind Assessment - Critical for Intoxication) Brandon, I want to be straight with you. I know you use fentanyl. I can see you’re a bit pinned right now, maybe starting to feel sick?

SCOTT: I’m coming down. It sucks.

CST. MALCOLM: I know it does. But I need to make sure your brain is working right now. Can you tell me where we are?

SCOTT: Police station. District 3.

CST. MALCOLM: And why are you here?

SCOTT: Robbery. The store.

CST. MALCOLM: Okay. So you know what’s going on. Are you feeling clear-headed enough to decide if you want to talk to me?

SCOTT: I’m awake. I’m fine.

CST. MALCOLM: Okay. Are you talking to me voluntarily right now?

SCOTT: I guess so.

PHASE 1: RAPPORT & BASELINE (THE "HUMAN" APPROACH)

CST. MALCOLM: Look, Brandon, I’m not here to yell at you. I look at your file, and I see a 19-year-old kid. You shouldn’t be in a grey suit in a police station. You should be playing video games or working a job or hanging out with friends. How long have you been dealing with the fentanyl?

SCOTT: Since I was like 17.

CST. MALCOLM: That’s young, man. That’s a heavy weight to carry. Is it a daily thing now?

SCOTT: Pretty much. If I don’t use, I get sick. Like, bones hurting sick.

CST. MALCOLM: I hear that. It stops being about getting high and starts being about just feeling normal, right? Just trying to stop the pain.

SCOTT: Exactly. People don’t get that. They think I want to be like this.

CST. MALCOLM: I get it. I see it every day on the street. Good people who get hooked on something that takes over their brain. You staying anywhere right now? Or couch surfing?

SCOTT: Couch surfing. Sometimes at my buddy’s in Bowness. Sometimes... wherever.

CST. MALCOLM: That’s exhausting. Never knowing where you’re sleeping, waking up sick, having to hustle just to feel okay. That puts a lot of pressure on a person. It puts you in a survival mode, doesn’t it?

SCOTT: Yeah. It’s hell.

(ANNOTATION: Rapport is established. Malcolm has validated Scott's struggle without judging the drug use. He has framed Scott as a "victim of addiction" rather than a criminal. This establishes the primary theme: Desperation, not Malice.)

PHASE 2: THEME INTRODUCTION (DESPERATION & IMPULSE)

CST. MALCOLM: Brandon, I want to talk about tonight. But before we do, I want you to know how I see this. There are guys who rob places because they are greedy. They want the rush. They want to hurt people. They are predators. And then there are guys who are sick. Guys who wake up, realize they have no money, feel the sickness coming on, and panic. They make a split-second decision because their body is screaming at them. You don’t strike me as a predator, Brandon. You strike me as a guy who was desperate to stop the pain.

SCOTT: I’m not a predator. I don’t hurt people.

CST. MALCOLM: I believe that. I really do. But right now, on paper, this looks bad. It says "Robbery with a Weapon." That sounds violent. That sounds like a guy who went in there to terrorize a clerk. My job right now is to find out if you’re a dangerous criminal, or if you’re a 19-year-old kid who made a desperate mistake because of the drugs. Which one is it?

SCOTT: It was a mistake. But I didn’t rob him.

(ANNOTATION: The First Denial. Scott accepts the "Mistake" label but denies the legal charge. This is expected. Malcolm does not argue facts yet.)

PHASE 3: SOFT CONFRONTATION & EVIDENCE GRADIENT

CST. MALCOLM: Okay. You didn’t rob him. Here is what I have to work with, Brandon. We have a clerk who is terrified. We have video of a guy in a black hoodie, white shoes, slim build—looks exactly like you. And when Cst. Yee stopped you three blocks away, you ran. Why did you run if you didn’t do anything?

SCOTT: I ran because I have a warrant. I’m on probation. I panicked.

CST. MALCOLM: Fair enough. Panic makes people run. I’ll give you that. But here is the problem. When we searched you, you had $340 in loose bills in your pocket. And two packs of DuMaurier Reds. That is the exact amount taken from the till. Those are the exact cigarettes the clerk handed over. Now, you can tell me you "found" them. But finding $340 cash and cigarettes lying on the sidewalk at 10:30 at night? Brandon, I respect you too much to believe that. And if you tell a judge that, they are going to think you are treating them like an idiot. You’re not a liar. You’re just in a bad spot. Did you find that money, or did you go into that store because you needed it to score?

SCOTT: I... I found it near the dumpster.

CST. MALCOLM: (Pauses. Looks disappointed, not angry.) Near the dumpster? Where you were hiding? Brandon, look at me. The video shows the guy putting the cash in his left pocket. That’s where we found it on you. The video shows the guy grabbing the smokes with his right hand. I’m not asking if you were there. I know you were there. The cameras know you were there. I’m asking why. Was it the sickness? Were you hurting?

SCOTT: (Head drops, voice quiet) I haven’t used since this morning. I felt like my skin was burning.

(ANNOTATION: The Pivot. Scott has abandoned the "I found it" lie and pivoted to his internal state. This is an admission of motive.)

PHASE 4: THEME DEVELOPMENT (MINIMIZATION OF INTENT)

CST. MALCOLM: There it is. That’s the truth. You were hurting. When you’re feeling like that, your brain turns off the logic. All you can think about is "I need to fix this." So you saw the store. It was quiet?

SCOTT: Yeah. No cars.

CST. MALCOLM: So you didn’t want a confrontation. You waited until it was empty because you didn’t want to deal with people. You just wanted the cash and to get out.

SCOTT: Yeah. Just quick.

CST. MALCOLM: (Actus Reus Confirmation) So you went inside. You went to the counter. What did you say to him?

SCOTT: I told him to give me the money.

CST. MALCOLM: Did you yell? Or were you just firm?

SCOTT: I wasn’t yelling. I just said, "Give me the cash, don't be stupid."

CST. MALCOLM: Okay. See? A violent guy screams. A violent guy jumps the counter. You stayed on your side. You just wanted the transaction to be over. But Brandon, we have to talk about the knife.

SCOTT: (Tenses up) I didn't use a knife.

CST. MALCOLM: (Soft Confrontation) Brandon. The camera is really high def. It shows a black folding knife in your right hand. And we found a black folding knife five meters from where Cst. Yee caught you. I’m not saying you stabbed anyone. I’m not saying you tried to cut him. I think you brought it because you’re a small guy, and you were worried he might try to be a hero. You pulled it out just to say "I'm serious," right? Not to hurt him?

SCOTT: I wasn't gonna stab him! I swear.

CST. MALCOLM: I believe you. If you wanted to stab him, you would have. You didn’t. You stood back. So the knife was just a... a prop? Just to make him move faster?

SCOTT: Yeah. Just to scare him. Make him open the drawer.

CST. MALCOLM: (Mens Rea Confirmation) Okay. So you showed him the knife so he would give you the money, because you needed it for drugs.

SCOTT: Yeah.

CST. MALCOLM: And as soon as he gave it to you, you left?

SCOTT: Yeah. I grabbed the smokes and ran.

CST. MALCOLM: You didn’t hit him? Didn’t push him?

SCOTT: No! I never touched him.

CST. MALCOLM: That’s huge, Brandon. That is the difference between a robbery and an assault. You kept your hands to yourself. That shows me you still have a line you won’t cross.

(ANNOTATION: Full admission obtained. Malcolm has guided Scott to admit to the weapon by framing it as a "tool for speed" rather than a "weapon for violence." This secures the Robbery charge while allowing Scott to save face.)

PHASE 5: NARRATIVE & SEQUENCE

CST. MALCOLM: Okay, let’s go back for a second just so I have the sequence right for my notes. I want to make sure I’m telling your story accurately. You’re walking down 14th Street. You’re feeling sick. You see the Quick Mart. Walk me through it step-by-step.

SCOTT: I saw the store. I checked for people. Put my mask up. Hood up. I walked in. The guy was behind the counter. I pulled the knife out of my pocket. Opened it. I walked up and said "Give me the cash." He looked scared. He opened the till. He put the money on the counter. I took it. I saw the cigarettes and grabbed those too. Then I ran out.

CST. MALCOLM: Where did you go when you ran out?

SCOTT: Up the alley. North.

CST. MALCOLM: And then you saw the police car?

SCOTT: Yeah. I saw the lights. I freaked out. I threw the knife.

CST. MALCOLM: Why did you throw it?

SCOTT: Because I didn’t want to have it on me. I knew it was bad.

CST. MALCOLM: That shows you knew it was wrong, Brandon. That guilt kicked in right away.

PHASE 6: FUTURE CONSEQUENCE & IDENTITY

CST. MALCOLM: Brandon, you’re 19. You have your whole life ahead of you. This addiction is driving the bus right now, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the story. By telling the truth tonight, you’re taking the first step to taking the wheel back. You admitted you were wrong. You admitted you were desperate. You admitted you didn’t want to hurt anyone. That matters.

SCOTT: Am I going to jail?

CST. MALCOLM: (Oickle Firewall) I’m going to be honest with you. Robbery is a serious charge. You are on probation. You are likely going to be held for a bail hearing tonight. I cannot promise you what the judge will do. I cannot promise you bail or a specific sentence. I have no control over that. But what I can promise is that I will write in my report that you were cooperative, that you were respectful, and that you were honest about your motivation. I will make sure the court knows this was driven by addiction, not by a desire to be violent. Do you understand that distinction?

SCOTT: Yeah.

CST. MALCOLM: Do you have any questions for me?

SCOTT: No. I just... I want to see a doctor. I feel really sick.

CST. MALCOLM: I will make sure the cells sergeant knows you need to see the medic immediately. We’ll get you looked after. I’m going to type up a quick statement based on what we said. We’ll get it signed, and then we’ll get you some medical attention.

END TIME: 23:45 hrs

POST-INTERVIEW ANALYSIS

1. Vulnerability Management: The suspect was withdrawing from fentanyl. The officer performed a robust Operating Mind check at the start and monitored his physical state (shivering, sweating). The officer provided care (water, heat) before asking for a confession, ensuring the statement wasn't induced by a promise of relief.

2. Theme Efficacy: The "Addiction as the Villain" theme worked perfectly. It allowed Brandon to externalize the blame ("the drug made me do it") while accepting legal responsibility for the act. This bypassed his shame about being a "criminal."

3. Denial Pivoting: When Brandon tried the "I found it" lie, the officer used Evidence Gradient. He didn't show the CCTV immediately. He used the cash/cigarettes first. When that wasn't enough, he used the CCTV to close the door on the lie, but did so gently ("I respect you too much to believe that").

4. Weapon Admission: Getting a suspect to admit to a knife is difficult. The officer used the Minimization technique—suggesting the knife was for fear/compliance rather than injury. This made it psychologically safe for Brandon to admit to possession.

5. Legal Safety: The officer explicitly used the Oickle Firewall at the end. When asked "Am I going to jail?", he refused to lie or offer false hope, which protects the statement from being thrown out as an inducement. The officer also prioritized medical care at the end, showing duty of care.