Military Police

FALL 2015

Military Police contains information about military police functions in maneuver and mobility support, area security, law and order, internment/resettlement, and police intelligence operations.

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8 MILITARY POLICE By Lieutenant Colonel R. Scott Harbison and Captain Joshua K. Frye T housands of people attended the 2012 Fourth of July Hometown Celebration at the historic Tower Bar- racks Parade Field, U.S. Army Grafenwoehr, Germa- ny. After policing the sprawling installation during a spe- cial shift, members of the 615th Military Police Company, Grafenwoehr, and a military police platoon from the 2d Cav- alry Regiment (2CR), Vilseck, Germany, were released by Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) personnel. While the revelers re- turned to their barracks, quar- ters, and off- post housing, a troubled group of Soldiers sparked a sequence of events that led to unique and intense law en- forcement efforts for the entire area law enforcement com- munity. Patrol and emergency services were dispatched to a parking lot between two barracks located at Rose Barracks, Vilseck, after the staff duty noncommissioned offcer, 3d Squadron, 2CR, reported an assault with injuries. The frst patrols to arrive on-scene found that the victim of the as- sault was bleeding and had severe leg trauma. Witnesses stated that two males had specifcally targeted the injured Soldier, attacking him with a baseball bat and what ap- peared to be a machete attached to the end of a long pole. The victim was taken by German ambulance to the nearby Sulzbach-Rosenberg Hospital. By about 2335, a few minutes after the assault, the balmy July evening gave way to rain and there was no sign of the assailants. Garrison DES leaders—including the director, much of the operations staff, and the 2CR provost marshal— monitored the situation from the opposite side of the post, where the Fourth of July celebration had come to a close. Meanwhile, the military police investigator who was on call began interviewing witnesses at the scene. Investiga- tors from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (commonly referred to as CID) offce, 262d Military Police Detachment, arrived shortly thereafter and were briefed by patrols and the military police investigator. The assailants were quickly identifed by witnesses and military leaders who had been called to the scene. The leveraging of various databases indicated that one of the Soldiers involved in the assault had been accused of other assaults on three separate occasions in the previous 14 months. A consultation with CID personnel further re- vealed that the subject was a suspect in an ongoing drug distribution investigation. At about that time, key personnel began arriving on the scene and the subjects were in the installation access control system. The crime scene was secured, and witness inter- views were con- tinued. Initial reports indi- cated that the subjects had with their weapons into a nearby tree line. Patrols were thoroughly briefed; and a broad, methodical search was ini- tiated on the installation. Known associates, including one of the subject's ex-girlfriends, were sought to ascertain the whereabouts of the fugitives. Law enforcement intelligence provided by CID and infor- mation gleaned from interviews indicated that the subjects were violent individuals who might have access to other weapons. As the investigation progressed, it became appar- ent that the subjects may have returned to a friend's third- story barracks room adjacent to the scene of the assault. A witness who knew the subjects believed that they might have numerous edged weapons, an electroshock weapon, or pepper spray in their possession or in the room. Several hours passed, and 4 July turned into 5 July. The rain continued to fall, destroying the blood evidence at the exposed crime scene. All who were present became water- logged, and the hand radio microphones became unusable. As time passed, investigators assumed that the two as- sailants had likely retreated to that barracks room and that they were potentially barricaded. At about 0400, military police entered the building, secured the hallways and stair- wells, and began to evacuate and account for all the occu- pants. The unit leaders were asked if they could rule out the possibility that the subjects had access to weapons, includ- ing military-issued frearms; and they began a comprehen- sive inventory of the arms rooms. "Witnesses stated that two males had specifcally target- ed the injured Soldier, attacking him with a baseball bat and what appeared to be a machete attached to the end of a long pole."

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