I am not sure why there should be a direct correlation between the store's management with the police and then the police with the OP.
Should what the store clerks say affect the approach they take with a person of interest? I mean they could treat you like you're a Hollywood star busted for DUI or like you are Rodney King all based on a conversation they had with an employee.
Maybe cops should do a little more investigating. Showing up and immediately trying the "We know you did it, admit to it and it will go easier" is patently ridiculous. They aren't out for fact finding, just seeking a little blood. I have experienced this first hand when an acquaintance (not even a good friend) of mine broke into his neighbors house and stole $25K and had me pegged guilty by association. They showed up and started that whole routine. I let them know they have two options: Arrest me or leave the premises. I wasn't going to say another word w/o counsel present. Never did hear back after 13 years. Funny how that works.
Cops don't show up with that routine unless they have NOTHING. If they had something: You would be arrested and taken down town for an "interview" which is really an interrogation.
Not having been there, all we can do is speculate on what was said and by whom. The PD should have received a copy of the surveillance video without any comment by the store staff. That way, they could come to their own conclusions. If the store staff all stood there pointing at the video, saying "Yeah, that's the guy!", it's going to carry some weight, whether they're right, or not. At that point, lacing any other evidence, it's all the Police have to go on.
As far as going for blood- it's a freakin' electric violin, not $25K worth of stuff from a home. I have been involved in bigger retail theft incidents (I knew the check was going to be bad, so I called the same PD instead of Telecheck and they were caught a few blocks from the store) that had the detective coning into the store like it was the theft of a pack of gum. It's not a big deal for them and as I have mentioned, the mall around the corner is hit a lot harder and more frequently.
I could almost understand if they were being hard asses because they're just really tired of dealing with shoplifting incidents, though. For as much as it costs to deal with this kind of thing, they can have bag searches at the door, for all I care. My property taxes are high enough without people coming into the city, committing all kinds of crimes and driving the cost of the Police Department up. The number of officers has doubled in the last 10 years because of all of this crap and I'm sick of it.
I don't want anyone thinking that this is any kind of indictment of the OP, though.
The Police rely on the fact that not everyone understands their rights about interrogation and that many will fail to comprehend what's happening when the questions are fast & furious but from what the OP posted about the guy with the blond hair handling the instrument who looks nothing like him, if they really don't look alike, it should be fairly easy to say that it's not him.
