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Icelander · 05-30-2019, 10:30 AM

It's been some 26 hours since Galveston PD responded to a report of shots fired in the historic Strand district, near a building adjoining Harborside Drive, with the shots being fired on the 23rd Street and/or a parking lot off it. Two arrest were made as a young woman, Alice Talbot, had apparently been drugged and kidnapped. Ms. Talbot was rescued, but made only a short statement before being allowed to rest.

In the course of their investigation, Galveston PD has discovered connections to six murders. The bodies were discovered in the Seawall Walmart in Galveston some 30 minutes before the shots fired report, with off-duty Reserve Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office claiming to have followed a suspect from the Walmart to the Strand district, whereupon the shots were fired.*

The victims were apparently killed somewhere else, 12-18 hours before, and concealed in a back room of the Walmart. Five out of six bodies have been identified, three as employees of the Walmart, one as a tourist and one as a hotel employee from the Hotel Galvez. The sixth is a young woman who may also be a tourist, but the leading theory among the detectives is that she is a prostitute, despite her fingerprints not being in the system.

Now, I'm wondering how big the case has gotten in the just over a day since it started. Galveston PD has jurisdiction, but I'm guessing that the Galveston County Sheriff's Office would cooperate right from the start, as two of the victims lived outside the municipal area of Galveston proper and, in any case, the actual site of the murders might just as likely have been in their jurisdiction.

What about other law enforcement agencies?

Will the Texas Rangers get involved? Or the FBI, because there is evidence of kidnapping and it certainly looks serial killer-y?

How long does it take to set up a task force of multiple agencies?

Who else is involved after 26-27 hours, over the 27th and 28th of December 2018?

Edit: The Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force sounds like it ought to get involved. It's led by the US Marshals and I don't know how that works when there are no known suspects with active warrants, but from reading news stories, it sounds like the GCVOTF would coordinate any necessary manhunt, even if the more technical aspects of the homicide investigation might be in the hands of either the Galveston PD or alternatively an agency with more forensics resources, if six murders and a kidnapping results in state or federal agencies horning in on a local case.

*The role of the PCs, two of whom are the Reserve Deputies in question, will be minimized in the official reports, as their actions were questionable from a legal standpoint and might give a defence attorney ammunition to throw out important evidence. So, while the Galveston PD knows what happened, they'll falsify the paperwork to help them prosecute an apparent serial killer. As a defence attorney who among other things defends cops accused of malfeasace, I can attest that 'fixing' the paperwork to cover up mistakes or failure to obey protocol, while really a serious criminal act, is more or less standard practice.

Edit: Upon reviewing Texas laws and the interpretation of the Texas Attorney General of those statues in a similar case, I've decided to allow at least one PC to hold the status of Reserve Deputy in more than on County Sheriff's Office simultaneously, as long as he receives no emolument for holding more than one office. PC Teddy Smith is thus a Reserve Deputy in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, where he belongs to the Fugitive Warrant Division and is a part-time firearms training officer for their SWAT, but also Reserve Deputy in the Marine Divisions of the Sheriff's Offices of neighbouring Chambers County and Galveston County.

This entails a minimum of 16 volunteer hours of work per month in Jefferson County and a minimum volunteer contribution of 20 hours in Galveston County and 16 hours in Chambers County. As Teddy Smith is a Workaholic who likes the water, boats and SAR work, he generally does as many volunteer shifts as he can during months while the Penemue is moored at Galveston, having exceeded 200 hours this December, 40 in Jefferson County, 72 in Chambers County and 88 in Galveston County (Kessler had no monster hunting work for him). The lack of emolument is not really of concern, Smith has worked as a security contractor for Kessler since the 1980s and was on full salary, invested in stock options, during the decades Smith was lost in the 'Bermuda Triangle'. Smith is a millionaire, easy, might even be a multi-millionaire.

Depending upon the desires of Lucien Lacoste's player, Lacoste is already a Reserve Deputy with the Fugitive Warrant Division in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, attached to SWAT as an instructor. Lacoste might also hold a position as a Reserve Deputy in at least the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, if not all three counties (Chambers, Galveston and Jefferson).

In that case, it would probably be an investigative position, as Lacoste is an experienced and capable homicide detective fairly recently retired from the New Orleans Police Department on medical grounds, after a shooting in which Lacoste was critically wounded and his partner killed. Two years later, Lacoste has recovered better than any doctor could predict and is accredited by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a peace officer in Texas. Given his skill set and experience, he's an asset to GCSO or CCSO if he was willing to volunteer for a couple of shifts per month, either in a teaching capacity or maybe following up on a few cold cases.

Of course, this has an impact on the current adventure, as it means that the PCs will most likely know any GCSO deputies involved in the case and if Lacoste volunteers there, he can try to insert himself into the investigation.

Edit: Lacoste will indeed, like Teddy Smith, volunteer as a Reserve Deputy for the Sheriff's Office of all three counties, Chambers, Galveston and Jefferson. The sheriffs in all three counties are either dimly aware of the supernatural threat and J.R. Kessler's role in funding rough men to protect humanity from it in secret, or, alternatively, they are merely so securely in Kessler's pocket that they allow his employees wide latitude even without such knowledge. It's probably a little from Column A, a little from Column B.

05-30-2019, 10:30 AM	#216
Icelander Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Iceland*	Law Enforcement Response in General It's been some 26 hours since Galveston PD responded to a report of shots fired in the historic Strand district, near a building adjoining Harborside Drive, with the shots being fired on the 23rd Street and/or a parking lot off it. Two arrest were made as a young woman, Alice Talbot, had apparently been drugged and kidnapped. Ms. Talbot was rescued, but made only a short statement before being allowed to rest. In the course of their investigation, Galveston PD has discovered connections to six murders. The bodies were discovered in the Seawall Walmart in Galveston some 30 minutes before the shots fired report, with off-duty Reserve Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office claiming to have followed a suspect from the Walmart to the Strand district, whereupon the shots were fired.* The victims were apparently killed somewhere else, 12-18 hours before, and concealed in a back room of the Walmart. Five out of six bodies have been identified, three as employees of the Walmart, one as a tourist and one as a hotel employee from the Hotel Galvez. The sixth is a young woman who may also be a tourist, but the leading theory among the detectives is that she is a prostitute, despite her fingerprints not being in the system. Now, I'm wondering how big the case has gotten in the just over a day since it started. Galveston PD has jurisdiction, but I'm guessing that the Galveston County Sheriff's Office would cooperate right from the start, as two of the victims lived outside the municipal area of Galveston proper and, in any case, the actual site of the murders might just as likely have been in their jurisdiction. What about other law enforcement agencies? Will the Texas Rangers get involved? Or the FBI, because there is evidence of kidnapping and it certainly looks serial killer-y? How long does it take to set up a task force of multiple agencies? Who else is involved after 26-27 hours, over the 27th and 28th of December 2018? Edit: The Gulf Coast Violent Offender Task Force sounds like it ought to get involved. It's led by the US Marshals and I don't know how that works when there are no known suspects with active warrants, but from reading news stories, it sounds like the GCVOTF would coordinate any necessary manhunt, even if the more technical aspects of the homicide investigation might be in the hands of either the Galveston PD or alternatively an agency with more forensics resources, if six murders and a kidnapping results in state or federal agencies horning in on a local case. The role of the PCs, two of whom are the Reserve Deputies in question, will be minimized in the official reports, as their actions were questionable from a legal standpoint and might give a defence attorney ammunition to throw out important evidence. So, while the Galveston PD knows what happened, they'll falsify the paperwork to help them prosecute an apparent serial killer. As a defence attorney who among other things defends cops accused of malfeasace, I can attest that 'fixing' the paperwork to cover up mistakes or failure to obey protocol, while really a serious criminal act, is more or less standard practice. Edit: Upon reviewing Texas laws and the interpretation of the Texas Attorney General of those statues in a similar case, I've decided to allow at least one PC to hold the status of Reserve Deputy in more than on County Sheriff's Office simultaneously, as long as he receives no emolument for holding more than one office. PC Teddy Smith is thus a Reserve Deputy in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, where he belongs to the Fugitive Warrant Division and is a part-time firearms training officer for their SWAT, but also Reserve Deputy in the Marine Divisions of the Sheriff's Offices of neighbouring Chambers County and Galveston County. This entails a minimum of 16 volunteer hours of work per month in Jefferson County and a minimum volunteer contribution of 20 hours in Galveston County and 16 hours in Chambers County. As Teddy Smith is a Workaholic who likes the water, boats and SAR work, he generally does as many volunteer shifts as he can during months while the Penemue* is moored at Galveston, having exceeded 200 hours this December, 40 in Jefferson County, 72 in Chambers County and 88 in Galveston County (Kessler had no monster hunting work for him). The lack of emolument is not really of concern, Smith has worked as a security contractor for Kessler since the 1980s and was on full salary, invested in stock options, during the decades Smith was lost in the 'Bermuda Triangle'. Smith is a millionaire, easy, might even be a multi-millionaire. Depending upon the desires of Lucien Lacoste's player, Lacoste is already a Reserve Deputy with the Fugitive Warrant Division in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, attached to SWAT as an instructor. Lacoste might also hold a position as a Reserve Deputy in at least the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, if not all three counties (Chambers, Galveston and Jefferson). In that case, it would probably be an investigative position, as Lacoste is an experienced and capable homicide detective fairly recently retired from the New Orleans Police Department on medical grounds, after a shooting in which Lacoste was critically wounded and his partner killed. Two years later, Lacoste has recovered better than any doctor could predict and is accredited by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) as a peace officer in Texas. Given his skill set and experience, he's an asset to GCSO or CCSO if he was willing to volunteer for a couple of shifts per month, either in a teaching capacity or maybe following up on a few cold cases. Of course, this has an impact on the current adventure, as it means that the PCs will most likely know any GCSO deputies involved in the case and if Lacoste volunteers there, he can try to insert himself into the investigation. Edit: Lacoste will indeed, like Teddy Smith, volunteer as a Reserve Deputy for the Sheriff's Office of all three counties, Chambers, Galveston and Jefferson. The sheriffs in all three counties are either dimly aware of the supernatural threat and J.R. Kessler's role in funding rough men to protect humanity from it in secret, or, alternatively, they are merely so securely in Kessler's pocket that they allow his employees wide latitude even without such knowledge. It's probably a little from Column A, a little from Column B. __________________ Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 06-11-2019 at 02:01 AM.