US Law Enforcement Response, Time, Scale and Coordination (Galveston, TX)

[maximara]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

U.S. Highway 87 is also part of the federal highway system (just not the interstate system), so you would still need permission from a governor to close it down (even a rolling blockade would exceed the authority of a mayor/county commissioner).

Per the wikiperida article on them despite being called a "federal highway system" they "were built and have always been maintained by state or local governments."

A little searching produced "Buchanan County Sheriff deputies are shutting down Highway 59 because of flooding." Not the governor but the County Sheriff deputies so they do have some leeway. As the old saying goes 'better to ask forgiveness then permission'.

This is especially true if the "local billionaire J.R. Kessler" wants action now because someone 'hurt his little girl'.

That is the problem with having such a person involved even tangentially. When large amounts of money get involved things can get dicey and sometimes the law takes a back seat to expediency. Heck, we know that the guy has enough clout to interfere with a kidnapping investigation which could run into Texas Penal Code - Penal § 38.15. Interference with Public Duties. Sure it is only a Class B misdemeanor but the interference is in regards to a state felony so I don't know how those two law interact with each other.