LoneAmerican

What is your character name? James Blackburn What is your Discord username? LoneAmerican#0356 Why do you wish to join the San Andreas Highway Patrol? Furthermore, what separates you from other candidates and makes you an asset compared to other applicants? For me joining the San Andreas Highway Patrol is an opportunity to go above and beyond to serve the citizens of San Andreas. I believe that a position with the San Andreas Highway Patrol will allow me further my reach to serve all citizens no matter what community they live, in turn allowing me to foster relationships and collaborations with the various communities that make up our beautiful state. At the end of the day, my goal in a career with the San Andreas Highway Patrol is to do what no one else is willing to do to uphold the rights of the people and strive for the preservation of life and liberty. What separates me from other candidates is that I come from a community torn apart and riddled with crime. I know whats its like to grow up with a parent that was in out and of the prison system while his mother struggled to work several jobs to keep their kids fed and also struggled to keep her kids off the streets. At age seventeen, I saw one of my brothers start to go down the same path as my father so I knew I needed to get out. I got a waiver from my mother to allow me to enlist in the Marine Corps just to have the hope of escaping the community I grew up in. So while I don't believe my military service can do anything but aide in my physical and mental ability to do the job it is my ties to where I grew up that will allow me to understand those who come from a similar community. I will be able to foster trust and cooperation from citizens and communities that usually do not trust law enforcement. I believe this will aid us in connecting with more people and having a reduction in crime as more people will be likely to grow their trust in us to report and cooperate when they witness crime. In your own words, explain what differentiates state law enforcement from local law enforcement, including jurisdictional concerns, and what duties you will expect to perform in the San Andreas Highway Patrol. Additionally, what other qualities do you believe sets the Highway Patrol apart from other agencies that operate in and around Lucid City? What differentiates state law enforcement from local law enforcement comes down to the big picture. As you go through the tiers of law enforcement, the jurisdiction and the responsibilities become more broad. In local law enforcement such as Lucid City, we have city law enforcement that patrol the city, enforces laws and investigates crimes at a city level. The duties and responsibility of the city (local) police fall only to their area which as implied is the city. Sheriff's Departments such as Lucid County have jurisdiction and responsibilities to Lucid County. With state law enforcement the jurisdiction is state-wide and the responsibilities are also carried out state-wide. One of the many complex concepts of law enforcement is jurisdiction as there may come a time where there needs to be made a determination made where or who's jurisdiction a crime or investigation falls under. Usually this is based upon written agreements and statutes such as a crime in the county or city may be responded to and investigated by it's main body of law enforcement but if grows larger to extend outside of their jurisdiction then it may be taken over my state law enforcement. A simple example of this is if a kidnapping occurs in the city, it may initially be the local/city law enforcement's job to respond to and investigate that crime but if the kidnapping leads to evidence that the kidnapper is traveling across the state with the victim then state law enforcement will get involved and take over. If this investigation crossed state lines it then becomes a federal investigation and all state and local law enforcement no longer have jurisdiction over the case. In regards to duties that I expect to perform as a member of San Andreas Highway patrol is that of responding to calls and patrolling state-wide. I expect my supplemental duties to include highway traffic enforcement, state marine/water enforcement, civil order management, educational and public safety training along with assisting in the investigation of crime state-wide. Additionally I expect to provide resources, information and assistance to other law enforcement agencies such as local law enforcement. I believe the qualities that set the Highway Patrol apart from other agencies is that because their jurisdiction and responsibilities is so broad that their capabilities need to be too. For example, State Law Enforcement may need to have personnel that speak a wide range of languages or have certain skills that diversify the skill set of the members of the agency. State Law Enforcement also need a higher budget, broader equipment and tool set to handle the different requirements that that they need to fulfill across the state. This would cover different variations of vehicles, units and divisions along with training and certifications for its members. What is your priority in a situation - preservation of life (including a potential hostage situation) or catching those involved? Why? In any situation, all law enforcement must strive to preserve life over catching those involved and that is simply because of one concept, life is sacred and everyone only has one to live. I rather go home at the end of the day knowing that someone gets to continue on living their life than having to live with myself if I were to make catching the criminal my priority resulting in the death or harm to innocent life. I also operate on the Locard exchange principle which is that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something into the crime scene and leave with something from it. So if I make preservation of life my priority then there is a good probability that even though I didn't catch the criminal as the situation or crime was taking place, there will be ample evidence to obtain that will allow myself or my law enforcement partners to connect and arrest those responsible for the crime at a later time. While on patrol as a base-rank Trooper, you find yourself having a few negative run-ins with a Corporal after a minor issue on-duty that you felt was resolved. You feel that your disagreement with them goes beyond professional levels and that perhaps this corporal has a personal issue with you. How would you proceed in dealing with this issue, knowing that a Corporal is a supervisor-in-training and a superior rank to you? Honestly there is only a few ways to handle this situation, you can request a meeting with the Corporal and address the issue head on and see where it leads. If it leads to a resolution that is beneficial then you foster a greater relationship and sense of trust of working with one another. If there is something that seems personal and you can shut it down by working it out then that will always be the best way to handle things. Its always better to make a lesson out of a mistake or misunderstanding then to jump to conclusions and resulting to contacting a higher command immediately. However, if its seems unresolvable and it is truly proven to be personal then the corporal is demonstrating behavior that is unprofessional of someone that is a supervisor-in-training. It needs to be addressed in a professional and orderly manner by following the chain of command and any reporting system that is in place to resolve this. You need to think big picture such as, are they demonstrating this behavior to anyone else? Will this become a greater issue if they do become a supervisor? What are the impacts to the agency and morale if you let this continue? You aren't throwing anyone under the bus, you are attempting to work the issue out and get it resolved if it can't be resolved one on one. While on patrol as a Trooper, you respond to a pursuit of armed felons that just committed a murder. You strike a civilian vehicle in the pursuit. Neither vehicle is disabled and there are no injuries. How do you proceed? As I am responding to a pursuit In this situation, it seems that I am not the initiator of the pursuit nor am I the lead or the only person in the pursuit , so my focus is going to transition away from the pursuit and onto the civilian. I can do this knowing that any other units in the pursuit can focus on catching the felon while I focus on the safety and well being of the citizen. There may not be any known or visible injuries but there may be some damage caused to their vehicle and there is always the chance they may develop or have internal injuries. Therefore I am going to inquire about EMS evaluating the patient and that if possible have a third party unit document the crash for records sake so the citizen can file an insurance claim with the state. My goal is to make sure that the situation is properly documented and that the well being of the citizen and myself are guaranteed prior to me departing the scene and returning to duty. Leaving the scene would bring greater liability to the state and possibly risk myself endangering the security of my career. I need to go home at the end of the night knowing all citizens are safe and and that I did not demonstrate negligence in the course of my duties. While on patrol as a Trooper, you respond and arrive on-scene at a bank robbery at the Fleeca Bank on Great Ocean Highway. While setting up a perimeter and beginning to negotiate with the suspects inside, you receive notification of a panic alarm being activated from an LCPD officer. How would you respond? This is another situation where I believe the preservation of life and safety takes priority. Am I the initial unit on scene or is there other officers/troopers on scene? Are the units that are not on scene can respond to assist the LCPD officer? Are there hostages or other lives at stake that I am currently facing? These are all questions that I am going to ask myself in order to make the most justified decision. If I have units that can cover the LCPD officer and I have hostages in front of me, I am going to push for the negotiation of their release because it is a situation requires the preservation of life that is presently right in front of me. If I am not the first responding trooper/officer on scene, I am going to make sure they are secure and able to handle the situation before I request permission to depart the robbery scene/respond to aid the LCPD officer who is in distress. Like I said I am going to make an effective decision that is solely focused on preserving life and safety and I can't do that without questioning what is in front of me and providing justification for any decisions I make and actions I take. While on patrol as a Trooper, you respond to a call of suspicious activity - possible narcotics trafficking - in the vicinity of Grove Street. You observe a heavily tinted vehicle exiting the scene as you arrive and decide to pull the vehicle over for a traffic stop. Potentially citing case law as well as reasonable suspicion and probable cause, what are you empowered to do, and what would you do to investigate? Additionally, if the vehicle were to flee immediately upon sight of you, how would that change things? So based upon there being a call of suspicious activity we need to obtain some facts from the call. It seems that they didn't identify the vehicle specifically in the call however it does state that there is the possibility of narcotics trafficking. We also need to note the difference between reasonable suspicion and probable cause. Supreme court case Terry v. Ohio determined that for reasonable suspicion to exist, a crime has to have been committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed. In citation of multiple supreme court cases, for probable cause to exist, there needs to be a reasonable basis for believing that a crime may have been committed (for an arrest) or when evidence of the crime is present in the place to be searched (for a search). So in in this situation for the 911 call you may be able to cite two supreme court case rulings, United States v. Rowland, a tip from a 911 call may generate reasonable suspicion, it can only do so when, under the “totality of the circumstances,” it possesses two features: First, the tip must exhibit sufficient indicia of reliability, and, second, it must provide information on potential illegal activity serious enough to justify a stop. Along with Navarette v. California where under the the Fourth Amendment, an officer may make a brief investigative stop only where “a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity,” If the vehicle is seen leaving the area of where the report was directed and also having vehicle tint I could justify a stop of the vehicle for investigative inquiry. In this case troopers can conduct a investigative inquiry and ask questions to determine the who, what and where about the individuals inside the vehicle. Who are they? What are they doing? Where are they coming from and where are they going? Do I notice anything anything through my senses that gives me probable cause? I can have all subjects out of the vehicle and search them if I see something that provides probable cause but if I don't I can still get all occupants out to conduct a safety based external non-invasive terry frisk (Terry V. Ohio). Now in regards to the vehicle fleeing immediately upon sight of police, that would enable the use of the ruling from Illinois v. Wardlow. Where in reasonable suspicious exists "to justify the stop because nervous, evasive behavior, like fleeing a high crime area upon noticing police officers, is a pertinent factor in determining reasonable suspicion." Therefore I am justified in stopping or pursuing that vehicle. If the vehicle starts a pursuit and is arrested, we can utilize U.S. v. Robinson where "in the case of a lawful custodial arrest a full search of the person is not only an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment, but is also a reasonable search under that Amendment." This means I can search them prior while carrying out and arrest. Do you agree not to ask staff members and/or command staff to look at this application? Yes