Free Zombie CSU by Jonathan Maberry Page B

states, both of these entities have police powers, and they are highly qualified to search wilderness areas. The trouble is, there are very few game wardens in any one region, and so you may only get one or two officers to respond. However, the best resource for a small town (like the one in our medical research center scenario) would probably be a nearby large city, and a large city would have all the resources the state police have, and probably even more. Also, a nearby large city police department could deploy their personnel within thirty or forty minutes of being called. They would certainly have a helicopter unit, and also multiple dog teams. If the forested area goes into the large city’s jurisdiction, they would also have personnel specifically trained in how to operate in that environment.”
    According to Chief Coluzzi, “Civilians may be used in situations where there is clearly insufficient police staffing. Many towns have CERT 12 Teams (Citizen Emergency Response).”
    I asked my experts to explain how the search itself unfolds.
    “The first step is to get people in the area,” advises McKinney. “You have to have people assigned to the crime scene itself, and others to interview witnesses. What you have left over, you assign to the quadrant. Once the quadrant is established, it basically turns into a waiting game for most of the officers involved. If a helicopter is available, they do the majority of the search. If dogs 13 were to be used, all other personnel would back out of the affected area. Believe me, you don’t want to meet up with a search dog off its leash. Ouch!!!”
    Ted Krimmel, a sergeant with the South Central Bucks County Emergency Response Team (SERT) adds, “A biting incident could be classified as an aggravated (felony) assault. It being a felony, more resources could be brought in for the search.”
    Witzgall lays out the steps used to manage a pursuit: “First you establish a chain of command and a command post location; and then inventory all available materials and assets. You break down all manpower resources into teams and appoint team leaders for each team…and you make sure all teams have radio or cell phone communications.”
    McKinney adds, “Now, in this zombie situation, if the manhunt gets huge, and county and state police agencies get involved, the largest jurisdictional entity would usually assume ultimate control. For example, between county and state agencies, the state would be the larger entity.”
    “Most searches of this manner are based on terrain denial,” Witzgall says, “Meaning that while you have people (and dogs) in pursuit you also want to get officers in front of the suspect to cut off his advance. If the on-scene commander knows his stuff, he will break the area down into grid squares (or use a military 1:25000 topographical map) to cover the search area. Each team (or several teams) would be assigned a grid square to search. All roads (improved or gravel) would be monitored. Once the suspect is sighted several things can happen. Teams may be jumped ahead of the suspect. Dogs and mounted units may be redirected toward the suspect. Trailing teams will be told to speed up and, if possible, surround the suspect. And aviation assets will circle the suspect to maintain visual contact.”
    Sgt Krimmel describes how the actual takedown would be handled: “If the subject were spotted, he would first be given verbal commands, typically first ‘Police! Don’t move!’ followed by commands to either kneel or lie on the ground. The officers would also notify the command post or dispatcher of their location (if they know) and situation. If the subject obeys commands, he would be approached by a contact officer and handcuffed in what cops call ‘an arrest without incident.’ Failure to comply would be met usually with OC spray or K-9 application (both are usually very effective). In Pennsylvania officers are required to use the minimum level of force