"It answers the only question relevant to whether you have legal cause to stop me," Camille said.
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968). An officer may perform a brief investigatory stop only when they have a reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.
Camille knew the case law backward and forward. Walking on a sidewalk in broad daylight did not meet the threshold. Doyle knew it too, or at least, she should have.
Something changed in Doyle's face. A dangerous mix of frustration and bruised ego. She wasn't used to being answered this way. She was used to compliance.
"Give me your identification," Doyle ordered, extending a hand.
Camille kept both hands visible and completely still. "What crime do you suspect me of committing?"
"I don't have to explain every detail of an active investigation to you."
"Then tell me what the investigation is."
"You are making this much more difficult than it needs to be," Doyle warned, unclipping the retention strap on her Taser.
"No," Camille replied calmly, holding the officer's gaze. "I am simply asking you to follow the law."
The confrontation had not gone unnoticed.
Across the street, a man in a pastel polo shirt who had been watering his already-perfect lawn stopped. The water from his hose pooled onto the concrete as he stared at the scene.
A heavy velvet curtain moved in the window of the house directly behind Camille.
Two doors down, a woman holding a small lapdog stepped cautiously onto her expansive front porch, watching with wide eyes.