(Samantha Runnion) Police artist praises helpful child witness
Patty
COMPOSITE: A sketch of a suspect in a little girl's slaying proved
valuable.
07/21/2002
By LINDA LOU
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
CORONA - Michael Streed's 25 years' experience in law enforcement did
little to reduce the stress from his most recent assignment.
Streed, a city of Orange police officer and forensic artist who lives
in Corona, depicted the suspect in Samantha Runnion's kidnapping based
on her playmate's description.
Samantha's face lingered in his mind after he finished his part in the
case, Streed said Saturday.
Within hours of Samantha's kidnapping Monday, Streed had interviewed
the 5-year-old witness who was playing with the victim and created a
composite of the suspect that was released the next day.
Although Streed, 44, said he couldn't compare this witness' verbal
recollection and recognition skills to other witnesses from his
experience, he praised the girl.
"I think she did her job well," he said. "She saw what she saw and was
very helpful in relaying the information to me."
His interview with the girl was conducted like any of his other
assignments, Streed said. He spent time building rapport with the
witness before making inquiries.
He typically helps child witnesses relax by encouraging them to draw
or play games, he said. Streed said he has to act like a "pop
psychologist" sometimes.
Once witnesses feel more comfortable, Streed gets them to concentrate
and talk about suspects' facial features.
"I let them do as much talking as possible before I ask them more
specific questions," he said. "I don't want to lead them."
Once solid details emerge based on what a witness tells him, Streed
pulls out a photo album of criminals who might have that specific type
of nose, eyes mouth, etc.. Witnesses then select the appropriate
features that Streed puts together to draw a composite.
Then he shows his composite to each witness and makes changes. The
process takes 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours.
Streed, who used an 8-year-old's account to draw the composite of the
man suspected of kidnapping and killing 10-year-old Anthony Martinez
of Beaumont in 1997, said children can remember faces.
"Children are reliable witnesses, despite what people say," he said.
"They discount children's reliability because of their age and
perceived inability to articulate facial features, but that's not
true."
But one problem with child witnesses is that they like to please
adults and say what they think adults want to hear, Streed said.
That's where his training kicks in.
Streed, who not only draws composites but fugitive, age-progression
and skeletal-remains reconstruction sketches, has taken classes from
the FBI and art schools across the nation. He draws 50 to 75 sketches
per year and has helped various local police departments that request
his help.
In his spare time, Streed draws cartoons. His comic characters,
Hackers and Crackers, can be found online at
One lesson Streed said he hopes people remember is the usefulness of
composites. "I hope the public gains greater awareness of composite
drawings and uses them to help with any future cases," he said. "This
(Samantha Runnion) case can get police agencies to consider using
composites more to solve crimes and realize their impact."