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Old 05-31-2019, 07:59 PM   #19
Icelander
 
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
Default Re: US Law Enforcement Response, Time, Scale and Coordination (Galveston, TX)

Quote:
Originally Posted by hal View Post
If you have an emergency response vehicle transporting someone with a medical emergency, the vehicle will move with lights flashing, sirens wailing, etc. Was this the case during transport?
It was not. For liability reasons as well as general humanity, Galveston PD does not want to process someone merely arrested as a material witness into the County Jail when there is a reason to believe they have sustained a concussion without an MRI and a medical examination, but the person in question does not seem to be suffering an emergency. The ambulance was called based on a report that the person was unconscious, but when officers actually saw her, she was conscious and apparently responsive, although somewhat confused.

There is sufficient reason to take her to an ER, but not to speed with flashing lights while doing so. I checked with medical professionals and first responders and they were unanimous that with symtpoms as described, the ambulance would drive directly to the hospital, but do so while obeying all ordinary traffic laws.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hal View Post
In an age with cell phones, radio, etc - police under fire tend to relay that information directly. The clock starts ticking as soon as the initial report is made.
Naturally. The OpFor leader is estimating that he'll have, at most, ten minutes from the first shot to the extraction point. He'd like to do it in 6-7 minutes, but would settle for eight. Nine or more minutes likely means having to fight off determined police pursuit and probably having to sacrifice one or two cars with sicarios (who will not agree to self-sacrifice, but who might be deceived into it).

Quote:
Originally Posted by hal View Post
Traffic lights tend to add transit time in ordinary areas, stop signs will cause vehicles to have to stop or risk accidents due to traffic control issues.
There don't seem to be lights or stop signs on the section of I-45 that the OpFor needs to drive to reach their extraction point. There is an on ramp and an exit, no lights or stop signs that I can see.

The ambush point is at a stop sign, but past that, there do not seem to be any.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hal View Post
Add in a paramilitary style attack, that becomes a breaking news event with terrorist overtones. That kind of thing tends to put police agencies in high alert in the near vicinity, quickly spreading to other units in a widening spiral.
Absolutely. And the OpFor would have to be in the wind before that response really started to ramp up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hal View Post
If the attackers have no exit plan in place before the ambush, sufficient video filmed by smart phones will quickly identify the paramilitary actors sufficiently well enough for other police units to start watching for them.
The OpFor are hoping that no one will get clear pictures of them during the 6-10 minutes from the first shot and until they split up in different cars on the other side of the Galveston Causeway.

Realistically, their cars will be caught on survillance cameras, but that's why they are leaving them behind and escaping in different ones, ones not associated with a police shooting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hal View Post
Most expressways will have patrolling cars hunting for speeding violation drivers. Those alone will act as picket units who radio in information -ESPECIALLY if the attackers are speeding.
The OpFor are hoping that the 5.6 miles they have to cover until they reach their getaway carsn, can ditch the ambush cars and split up will not contain any law enforcement vehicle. They'll have scouted the escape route four times in the past two hours, but obviously could have bad luck and have a Highway Patrol car arrive just after the last scout moves through to take up his position.
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Last edited by Icelander; 06-05-2019 at 07:12 PM.
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