Larry Rothi's Deception In Police Interrogation

History in police interrogation proves the system has come along away, yet there are still concerns about how police officers interrogate suspects. In the video, Larry Rothi is interrogated by detectives for nearly 7 hours. According to Magid (2001), interrogations usually involve some level of deception. For instance, as shown in the video, the detectives deceive Mr. Rothi into thinking that a witness, his neighbor, was at the scene and documented what he saw, which later in the video we find out is supposedly Mr. Rothi firing a bullet. They further delve into the fictional story and tell Mr. Rothi that the friends whom he lives with say they saw him fire the gun as well. By deceiving the suspect, the interrogators are successfully creating

an illusion that the suspect starts to consider could’ve been true. Mr. Rothi, starts to show signs that he believes the story when he no longer firmly defends himself by saying it wasn’t him, but rather says it couldn’t have been him. The detectives also used the Reid Technique, which is a commonly used tactic in interrogations (Schwartz, 2016, p. 35). The technique involves direct confrontation where the interrogator makes it clear from the start that he/she believes the suspect is guilty. The detectives throughout the duration of the video, stayed persistent in insisting Mr. Rothi committed the crime. They didn’t let him speak when he tried to defend himself. They just kept interrupting him, making it difficult for Mr. Rothi to say out loud that he is innocent, thus permitting him to gradually give up on defending himself. The third tactic the detectives used was a form of threating. They told Mr. Rothi hat if he doesn’t confess, his story will ultimately lead him to a harsh sentence, that the judge will be harsher on him because he is lying. However, if he confesses, then the judge will be easier on him because he at least admitted to his mistake. The detectives’ tactics work because Mr. Rothi ultimately confesses.
After watching a bit of the interrogation, I believe that Mr.

Rothi was wrongfully accused. From the very beginning of the video, at approximately 2:00 AM, Mr. Rothi appears confused as to what the detectives are trying to tell him, showcasing a sense of innocence. Once he grasps the idea that a witness supposedly told the detectives that he saw Mr. Rothi did it, he is firm with his answer that it wasn’t him. After several long hours, however, of dreadful interrogating and verbal abuse, at approximately 6:00 AM, you can see a shift in Mr. Rothi’s demeanor. Ultimately, at approximately 7:00 AM, he confesses. It seems like he might have given an internalized false confession due to the fact the officers are saying his friends say he did it and he appears to question the whole situation. However, I believe his confession was actually a coerced-compliant false confession, which is obtained through threats or promises of a better deal (Chapman, 2013). He was exhausted and feared his punishment would be worse if he stuck with his truthful story that he didn’t fire the gun. He felt that at that moment, there was no other choice but to confess because he’d been in there for so long and the detectives weren’t even considering his side. I believe the police did not treat Mr. Rothi with dignity of respect, but rather treated him as if he were a criminal, despite the saying innocent until proven guilty. With the constant use of foul language and torturous yelling, the officers appeared to do whatever it took until they heard what they wanted to hear. After numerous stories about how interrogations failed the system, it’s important that officers change the way they question individuals and actually treat the suspects with regard because no matter how much the officers actually believe the suspect did it, there is still a chance the suspect is actually

innocent.