Can't run descriptions without names, and they won't give names. This was not entirely accurate. Ror had asked for ID. Neither man had refused. Darius had asked if they were being detained, which was a legal question, not a refusal, and Ror had not answered it.
In Florida, law enforcement may request identification during a lawful stop based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. But sitting on a public bench in a designated public area, does not constitute reasonable suspicion. The legal standard Terry versus Ohio 1968 refined by Heel versus 6th Judicial District Court of Nevada 2004 requires specific articulable facts that criminal activity is a foot. Two men sitting for 45 minutes does not meet that threshold. Ror knew this, or he should have known it.
It was covered in the department's annual use of authority refresher last administered 9 weeks ago. But Ror was not thinking about Terry versus Ohio. He was thinking about two black men who wouldn't show him their IDs. And that was enough. At 2:14 p.m., Sergeant Marlon Keats arrived.
He pulled up in an unmarked Dodge Charger, dark blue tinted windows, no light bar. He was 47, barrel-chested with a close-shaved head and a way of walking that made the ground seemed like it owed him something. 19 years on the force, the longest serving patrol sergeant in Wakefield County. He didn't rush. He didn't run.
He stepped out of the vehicle, looked at the scene for a full 10 seconds, and walked over. What do we have? Keats asked. Two subjects, no ID. Been here an hour, Ror said.
Clerk reported them watching the building. Watching the building, Keats repeated. Yes, sir. Keats looked at Malcolm, then at Darius. He took his time and then he did something that neither Ror nor Nolan had done.
He read the sign. The entire sign, the posted public access notice with its citation of Florida statute section 810.09. He read it slowly, the way a man reads something he's already familiar with. Then he ignored it. Gentlemen, Keats said, his voice carrying the weight of a man used to being obeyed.
This is a federal courthouse. Loitering on government property is a misdemeanor under county ordinance. I'm going to need you to produce identification or vacate the area. Malcolm heard it every word and he caught the error because it wasn't an error. It was a choice.
There was no county ordinance against loitering on federal courthouse grounds. The courthouse plaza was federal property, not county. County ordinances did not apply. And even if they did, the posted sign specifically designated the bench area as public access. Keats had just read the sign.