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Hard Science: Weapon of Choice
Though Glock is regarded worldwide as a manufacturer of superior firearms, the research center guard’s choice of model 23C is a questionable one. This version of the gun is a “compensated version,” which means that it is designed to have additional gas/flame venting to reduce recoil so that the shooter can bring the gun back to the point of aim more quickly. For daytime shooting this is a superb choice, but since the gas flame is vented by two ports on the topside of the slotted barrel, which can blind the shooter, it’s not the best bet for a nighttime guard.
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But as Greg Dagnan points out, “Ninety Percent of the agencies in the U.S. do not have homicide units. Among those that do, this policy varies around the country. The best and most common practice is that those who initially investigated the crime know the most about the case and they should finish it. However, on a high-profile case with a lot of media attention, homicide may insist on taking over.”
The Zombie Factor
Everything starts with the crime scene, just as in the hunt for the cause of any kind of plague you need to go to the source. Our zombie assailant was described as wearing hospital scrubs, a T-shirt, and no shoes, and the attack happened in the parking lot of a medical research facility. Connections will be drawn.
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Michael Kelly—CJ from “Dawn of the Dead”
In the remake of Dawn of the Dead, there are a number of reluctant heroes—the thief turned zombie hunter, the cop who just wants to find his brother, the guy who sells TVs at Best Buy, the nurse who just lost her husband—but one of the most complex and interesting, and indeed the most reluctant hero of the film is the security guard, CJ, as played by Michael Kelly.
I asked Michael what makes CJ tick. “The character of CJ was built mostly on two things: his loneliness and insecurities. Throw in a little drinking problem, childhood abuse, and a very bizarre love of video games and you have someone who has no intention of becoming a hero.”
And yet he does, several times saving the lives of the people he first tried to drive away from the shopping mall sanctuary where CJ is head of security.
Being in the remake of one of the most beloved films of the genre was a great career opportunity, but it also put the cast and crew in the hot seat. “Every remake is gonna catch shit. Before ours came out, the lash was relentless. I think fans’ minds were changed as soon as they saw ours, and if they weren’t then I would have to say perhaps they were diehards and stubborn, and it didn’t matter what we did. People would have bitched if we did an exact remake as well. You can’t please everyone, and when making a film you should stay true to yourself and your vision anyway. Everyone sees things differently.”
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As we go, we’re going to raise and then knock down a number of favorite zombie plague theories. The “radiation from a space probe” idea won’t hold water, as you’ll see; and though toxic waste contamination holds a little promise, it’s most reasonable to expect that the cause of the plague will, in fact, be a plague: a pathogen of some kind, and once the assailant has been found and examined, and the forensic evidence collected and analyzed, attention is very likely to turn back to some kind of medical source.
So our scenario, though not drawn from any specific zombie movie or book, is based on a “most likely” premise.
The first responders are on the scene; the process is in motion.
JUST THE FACTS
Securing the Crime Scene
Once the call has been made for backup and experts, the first responders still have work to do. Officers check all routes and ways into and out of the crime scene. This is necessary for several reasons, but principally to identify any route by which the suspect may have entered or left the scene by vehicle or foot and to make sure that all emergency routes will be available. At the same time the officers need to determine if there is any visible evidence on a route that could be contaminated or destroyed by responding official vehicles. Tire tracks, footprints, blood trails, shell casings, and other evidence is surprisingly fragile, and if the evidence is contaminated it can not only become useless (or suspect) as evidence useful for identifying the suspect, it can also become tainted and, therefore, useless in court.
In addition to police and forensics teams, others respond to crime scenes—violence will eventually draw crowds of reporters and rubbernecking civilians, all of whom are a threat to the integrity of the evidence and the process of investigation. Responding officers need to either erect barricades (generally using rolls of yellow crime scene tape) or arrange for wooden barricades to be brought in.
Some evidence is vulnerable to wind, trampling, precipitation, and other natural phenomena, so to protect and preserve the evidence, officers need to consider covering the evidence with plastic sheeting or other materials until the forensics team can get to it.
Responding officers start a log of the crime scene. This log includes as precise a chronology as possible that notes the location of the victim, witnesses, and (if any) suspects; information on the environmental conditions (rain, humidity, available light,4 etc.); the location of other objects (buildings, vehicles, etc.); visible possible evidence; location, identification and type of any arriving vehicles; ditto arriving personnel; and sketches of the crime scene that includes measurements and diagrams.
The officers set aside an area free from areas of evidence but close enough to serve as a base of operations for the crime scene. This area will always be within the barricaded restricted zone. One of the two5 responding officers will act as a point officer, which means that he or she will brief incoming officers and specialists and work to limit the number of people crossing the evidence barrier lines. Not all police who arrive at a crime scene are permitted past the barriers because of the great need to protect the evidence.
A growing number of police departments around the country have begun issuing small but powerful digital flash cameras to all units in their areas so that the first responders can take photos of a completely pristine crime scene. This is especially useful when non–police emergency teams have to cross into the evidence area (firefighters, EMTs, etc.). The digital files can be quickly downloaded to the detective and forensic teams’ laptops and compared with the photos later taken by the official crime scene photographer.
If any evidence is removed by officers prior to the arrival of detectives and CSU teams, then each item would be put into a labeled bag and registered in the log along with precise notes indicating where the object was found.
As the CSU and detectives arrive, the first responders release the scene to the specialists. Part of this process is to provide detailed information to every person who has a need to know.
Expert Witness
Criminal Justice Professor Greg Dagnan discusses6 how a crime scene is secured: “Here is how your agency can insure crime scene integrity while conserving manpower and budget dollars. First, level containment: The most basic and superficial containment, this is the crime scene tape that surrounds the crime scene itself. The first level is usually determined by responding patrol officers and perhaps modified slightly after the initial chaos dies or the investigators show up. Properly done, this level of containment surrounds all places where evidence might be, with a bit more for extra insurance. Make sure to remember possible areas of entrance and egress by the suspect as these are the most commonly forgotten when containing a crime scene. Regrettably, first level containment is all the protection most crime scenes get. As illustrated earlier, this just doesn’t cut it for the big scenes because everyone does everything inside the tape.
“Secondary containment: Though taking security to a higher level, this is not as complicated as it sounds. When crime scene processing officers arrive, they put up a second barrier of crime scene tape that completely surrounds the first level making a buffer zone. The secondary level solves several problems: Officers and Command staff have a place to meet where they cannot be bot
hered by civilians. Equipment can be stored in this secondary area and even makeshift desks made from folding tables can be erected. If you have some sort of crime scene vehicle it can be parked in this area and the area can serve as an established place for taking breaks and for crime scene trash. Your crime scene log is kept in this area and signed only by those who enter the first level or it can be signed by officers as they enter the second level. The latter option is still advantageous, as officers will not have to leave the scene for equipment and breaks, so there will be a lot less signing in and out. Hopefully there will be no evidence discovered in this level if the first level was properly placed. However, if you do find something (like a footwear or tire impression) outside the first level but still inside the second level, having it within a protected area could still save officers considerable explanations in court. If you cannot completely surround the first level with a second level, don’t worry; the idea is that you find some place that adjoins the first level for you to cordon off for your purposes. As long as the first level of containment is well secured, a small adjoining secondary level could meet your needs without it having to completely surround the first.
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Zombie Films You Never Heard Of (but Need to See)—Part 3
Night of the Comet (1984): Not a great flick, but with Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov on hand to overact and Catherine Mary Stewart to look cute, this is definitely a good flick for a slow Saturday afternoon.
Versus (2000): Ultraviolent gangsters versus zombies versus time-traveling samurai ghosts. Better than it sounds.
Night of the Living Dead (1990): A lot of folks dissed the Tom Savini–helmed remake, but I’m not one of them. Tony Todd and Patricia Tallman turn in excellent, layered performances that turn the roles around so that it emerges as a tale of male bravado and obsession and female empowerment. Give it another shot.
The Night of the Seagulls (1975): The last of the Blind Dead series, with some of the best character development and emotional content to come out of the Italian zombie horror genre.
Premutos: Lord of the Living Dead (1997): A fallen angel raises an army of the dead and wages a very, very bloody war against mankind. The humans don’t have an angel on their side…but they do have tanks. That, apparently, is enough.
The Resurrection Game (2001): An ultrarare shot on 16 mm, backyard zombie flick. It has lots of plot flaws and no budget, but it’s earnest, and it was shot in Pittsburgh, which earns it some points right there.
Return of the Living Dead Part III (1993): I know a lot of zombie film buffs hate this movie, but I thought it has the makings, and almost has the performances. Melinda Clarke does a surprisingly good job of eliciting sympathy as she fights the change from girlfriend to ghoul.
Sex, Chocolate & Zombie Republicans (1998): One of the rare “wacky title” horror comedies that is both funny and a decent flick.
Stacy (2001): A weird and disturbing little film about a disease that causes teenage girls to become murderous zombies. Funny, absurd, sad, and violent.
They Came Back (2004): A French social commentary zombie film that’s truly about trying to be part of a society that is no longer your own. Disturbing more than frightening.
Veerana (1985): A song-filled Bollywood zombie film. Absolutely worth watching even if the plot makes no sense.
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“Perimeter Containment: This third level is where manpower and vehicles come in to play. Perimeter containment is done at most scenes to varying levels. This perimeter is created with barricades and police vehicles set up around the secondary tape. Roads are blocked to keep unauthorized vehicles away from the crime scene and foot traffic routed elsewhere. This level may be tighter if you have media trucks trying to get as close as possible and civilians trying to get right up to the crime scene tape. Manpower needs vary depending on how much foot traffic and unauthorized vehicles you are trying to keep out and how many access points that you have for authorized vehicles. The point of perimeter containment is that you keep your first and second level of containment more secure by insuring that unauthorized personnel will not be close enough to intrude on your crime scene.”
The Zombie Factor
For our zombie hunt, one of the most critical factors during the process of establishing the crime scene is determining likely points of escape. Zombies don’t hide, they don’t climb fences, and they don’t hop in cars and drive off. Any road or path leading away from the crime scene is likely to allow searchers to track the killer.
Footprints are particularly useful here, as is scent, and K-9 units are often called in to track suspects over all sorts of terrain. A slow, shuffling zombie can’t walk farther or faster than a determined and coordinated pursuit.
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Why Zombies?
“Modern apocalyptic zombies (as opposed to voodoo zombies) represent Armageddon at the most primal level. Doomsday, in which the last remaining humans must fight to survive on the most primal level. Hand to hand. Face to horrifying face. Against overwhelming odds.”—Joe Augustyn, screenwriter for Night of the Demons (1989) and Night of the Demons 2 (1994).
“Zombies are us; humans stripped of our souls and denied final rest; left to wander in an Earth bound purgatory (and depending on your Director—motivated by terrible desire to eat human flesh.). They are truly one of mankind’s most terrible fantasies and fears.”—Andy Bark, screenwriter for Dark Waters (1994).
“Because they give us a chance to hold up the mirror to all of society. Monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula were useful morality tools, but limited in certain way. Zombies, as a mass, as a section of a culture, can be used to stand in for all of society.”—author C. J. Henderson
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JUST THE FACTS
The Witness
When a witness makes a 911 call and remains on the scene (like in our example), one officer will conduct a short interview with her. He’ll make sure she’s not injured. He’ll make an initial determination as to whether this person was in any way involved in the crime (if she’s sitting there reloading her pistol, that could be a tip-off). And he’ll ask her to recount what she saw, going over it several times to make sure he has every detail. Witnesses are often upset and highly emotional, but an officer trained to elicit information knows how to calm the witness down, and knows the kind of questions that will pluck out all the previously unspoken details.
What a victim sees and can later accurately describe is dicey at the best of times. Time, distance, available light, movement, shadows, obstacles, angle, and clothing all conspire to make easy positive identification tricky. With five days’ worth of beard, new glasses, a woolen cap, and sunglasses Brad Pitt could probably walk down Broadway and few people would recognize him. Celebrities count on being able to make a few subtle costume changes to their appearance as a way of dodging throngs of fans and hordes of paparazzi.
So, given all these variables, we have a woman who witnesses a crime while driving. She pulls over across the street. County roads in industrial areas are generally 24 to 30 feet wide. Add to that a 48-inch shoulder, 42-inch-wide single-block sidewalk paving, a chain link fence, and a 26-foot-wide stretch of parking lot. That leaves the witness with a total minimum distance of 57.4 feet. This was in late afternoon/early evening and the quality of daylight will certainly affect vision. Dusk is one of the worst times for accurate witness descriptions. The eyes have not yet adjusted to darkness, and the light values play tricks on even the most eagle-eyed observer.
So, the interviewing officers will know that the information they get from the witness may not be 100 percent reliable. All cops know this; but it gives them a starting point and allows them to broadcast a BOLO (be on the lookout) with as much of a physical description as possible. The physical description of our attacker, based on the witness description, is as follows:
All units be advised. In connection with a possible aggravated assault, witness describes a white male, six feet, one-seventy, with short dark hair wearing light
colored pants, possibly hospital scrubs, and a white V-neck undershirt. Pants and shirt possibly stained with blood. No shoes. Suspect is described as extremely pale, with injuries or possibly bloodstains on his face and arms. Suspect is described as walking erratically like he was drunk. Last seen crossing Argento Road heading into woods across from Martin Medical Research. All units use caution when responding.
This visual description will be updated with any new information as the case progresses. Much later, if the suspect is not apprehended, a police artist will do a sketch—either freehand or with an identikit.