Athriel - Staff Report: Enforcement Action Taken - nessiependragon
What’s your BYOND key:
Athriel
Round ID:
25257
Your character name:
Kotek Spriski
Their BYOND key:
nessiependragon
What are you reporting?:
Enforcement Action Taken
Description of the incident:
Late in the round, just minutes before the Hijack, a fax from the Provost Office that ordered the arrest of a Cargo Tech (signed Brig. Gen. Roscoe) on the charges of Sedition. These charges stemmed from a fax the Cargo Tech wrote which was addressed to the UPP and went into great detail about wanting to betray the USMC, the methods at his disposal, and a plea for cooperation. In all ways renouncing his loyalty to the ship and setting himself up as a hostile party.
With the knowledge the Cargo Tech was set to arrest and arrested without incident at Requisitions and a copy of the warrant (which I made) was given to the Quartermaster for him to better understand what was going on. The Cargo Tech was delivered to the Brig and the Brigging Protocol began. As this was an ordered arrest for a Capital-level violation the Cargo Tech was to be incarcerated as a Permanent Prisoner.
I, as the Warden, took possession of the Permanent Prisoner and went to the Armory where I removed my Utility Belt and put my M44 holster in its place so that I could free up my armor weapon slot for a Tactical Shotgun. This left me with only two less-lethal devices. Both of which were Flashbang grenades. Time was short and I knew that MP equipment is not effective against non-Humans. I then took a crate of Buckshot in one hand, as my contribution to the defense at Lifeboats, while still fireman-carrying the Permanent Prisoner in my other hand.
From there we made our way to Lifeboats and during the trip I realized I was already planning in what way I could use my knowledge of the dropship crash mechanic to keep the Permanent Prisoner in my custody. Instead I opted for a more RP related route of not ducking into a confined space like the Laundry (Upper Deck) but kept in the corridor towards Lifeboats. Predictably the Permanent Prisoner was faster than myself and attempted to flee. I chased after the Permanent Prisoner and fired a warning shot that was far off to the side of him as well as the crew. I pursued him until the jostling Marines made it impossible and posed a greater risk to myself to recover the Permanent Prisoner.
I then met with another MP at Lifeboats and reported the escaped Permanent Prisoner to him. The MP said that he had seen the Permanent Prisoner run deep into the ship towards the direction of the xenomorphs and that he was probably dead. I decided that, given the circumstance, I needed to recover the Permanent Prisoner even if he was deceased because he could potentially be revived in accordance with (Marine Law: Prisoner Rights: Protection and Medical Treatment). Eventually I found the Permanent Prisoner in the Fuel Pump defensive area. I ordered the Permanent Prisoner to “FREEZE!” at which time the Permanent Prisoner began to run away, again, at this point I was limited in my options as Marines in the area seemed to be unaware that Capital-crime Permanent Prisoners were not to be armed even during Red Alert unless there was no other possibility of success - at which time there were only skirmishes within the Upper Deck to my knowledge and the Fuel Pump area was heavily secured.
As my continued chased of the Permanent Prisoner showed little possibility of success, and the deployment of a Flashbang would have heavily impaired the Marines in the area, I chose to act under the guidance of Marine Law and attempt to subdue and apprehend the Permanent Prisoner using Lethal Force as I was without other means of doing so without endangering the entire defense of the critical node. I shot at the prisoner one time with my M44 and was able to apprehend the suspect who was then promptly treated by a nearby Medic. At this point I believed the chase to be at an end and I intended to Legcuff the Permanent Prisoner. Unfortunately my unfamiliarity with the mechanic of cuffing while holding resulted in the Permanent Prisoner being able to move freely. At this point the Permanent Prisoner again evaded capture and the Marines present were turning against me and one Bravo Marine knocked me to the ground.
In order to establish my hold of the continuously escaping Permanent Prisoner (accused of Sedition by the Provost Marshal Office, a traitor to the USMC) I again began to slowly and deliberately shoot at the Prisoner in order to not kill but to subdue him (a total of three times to my recollection once with the M44 and two with the Tactical Shotgun with Slugs). Had I wished to kill the Permanent Prisoner I could have shot more frequently and aimed for the unarmored head. At this time, before I was able to apprehend the fugitive Permanent Prisoner that I believed, given the circumstances, would attempt to be freed and gain control of a gun to retaliate against me, I was stunned by the Admin who’s first message was “Don’t shoot people.” or extremely close to those words. From there I explained my position where the Admin stated that there was never a circumstance in which a MP should shoot a Prisoner unless their life is in immediate danger. This is the point of disagreement I have with this note and I believe it was filed improperly.
- The Cargo Tech (Permanent Prisoner) was accused by the penultimate in-character authority on Marine Law to be a danger to the ship as an agent of the UPP.
- The Cargo Tech (Permanent Prisoner) repeatedly and willfully evaded capture while also complaining about his arrest as unjust over general comms.
- The Bravo Marine’s interference made it possible that, as a lone MP, I could not maintain control of the Permanent Prisoner.
- I believed that the Permanent Prisoner had the IC motive and OOC clearance to utilize Lethal Force against me, or others, should he free himself of the cuffs or another Marine free him of the cuffs.
- Given limited ability to pursue non-lethal means without potentially griefing the Fuel Pump defense I opted for a restrained use of lethal weaponry while still in the area of multiple medics. Minimizing the impact of this relatively small but serious RP scene on the wider player base.
The Admin’s response was in-line with the premise that I should have, as an expectation of proper play, kept another less-lethal option during the boarding process in my satchel and that there is never a moment where a Prisoner may be shot with lethal weapons (with or without lethal intent).
I very much enjoy MP gameplay and I have been playing in this server, off and on, for about 5 years without issue. I do take the role seriously, I understand that the roles in the MP Dept. can negatively affect the gameplay enjoyment of the player base and I’ve endeavored to keep situations fair and even-handed. In my engagement with the other player I drew upon my gameplay experience in this server and used what I believed to be sound reasoning of both the spirit of the game rules and the provision therein. In my experience the MP players rarely retain their less-lethal weapon options during boarding or the pursuit of Predator players as they are ineffective and liable to disable Marines more than Predators or Xenomorphs which would be griefing.
Evidence:
Marine Law, Special Provisions, Emergency Situations (criteria not met)
Marine Law, Capital Crimes, Sedition
Marine Law, Application, Bullet Point 2 & 3
Marine Law, Lawful Orders
Marine Law, Arrest Procedure, Lethal Force, Paragraph 2.
Standard Operating Procedure, Rules of Engagement, Bullet Point 6
Below point to illustrate there is not a game requirement for MP to hold less-lethal options on their person only department issued headgear:
Standard Operating Procedure, Uniform Regulations, Bullet Point 2 subpoint 1