Feverishly sipping on cups of coffee, officers from various local law enforcement agencies stood in a parking lot early one morning last month, sharing photos and information on wanted criminals.
The sun was just coming up. There were at least 12 more hours to go.
“How tall?” an officer asks. Another replied, “6 foot 4.”
“Oh, a runner.”
Vehicle headlights illuminated mugshots as they were passed around the small circle of officers.
The sun was a little higher in the sky as officers from various law enforcement backgrounds suited up in Kevlar vests for one common goal: to take Savannah’s most violent offenders off the streets. The latest operation netted 144 arrests.
Members of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service include a mixture of specially deputized state and local officers that have the authority to cross state lines to arrest criminals. Because officers’ home agencies vary in location, jurisdiction and enforcement, the unit’s beauty lies in its ability to specialize where other law enforcement agencies can’t, said Deputy U.S. Marshal Stewart Cottingham, who heads SERFTF.
“We have a unique relationship with local law enforcement,” Cottingham said. “This is all we do. We get these guys when police can’t.”
The teams of five to 15 rotated throughout locations during this particular day. Officers of different ages and educational and professional backgrounds are united under the country’s oldest federal law enforcement agency. They come from all over the Coastal Empire — Georgia Department of Corrections, Savannah-Chatham police, Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, and they vary in experience. Some have been doing this kind of work for two years, 10 years, 20 years.
“The collaboration of all the law enforcement agencies is crucial to our success,” Cottingham said.
The task force is one of seven in the country led by the U.S. Marshals. Each marshals’ local knowledge of the city and boundless authority gives the task force the ability to follow fugitives who flee and evade arrest.
They spend their days — from sunrise to sunset — catching the criminals that have been on the run for years.
“It’s a game of grown-up hide and seek,” said Wendell Brock, SERFTF inspector. Patience is key, Brock said, since the day can include a lot of sitting around and waiting for information and tips.
Some missions yield arrests while others produce more information on the potential whereabouts of fugitives. Marshals spent hours on this day canvassing neighborhoods and talking with family, friends and acquaintances of fugitives collecting “just another piece of the puzzle,” according to Brock.
About six to eight hours in, they may stop for lunch.
Fugitives can be on the run from police for days — even weeks — at a time, Brock said. Depending on the availability of financial resources and support network, they can stay off the grid for months. Brock is still looking for a man who began his game of hide and seek with police in 2004. But the deputy says he isn’t worried.
“I’m gonna get him,” he said.
The key to catching their guy: information from their known associates and family, who typically lie to police about the fugitive’s location, Brock said.
“They always lie,” Brock said. “I’m more surprised if someone doesn’t lie to me... It’s just finding the right person with the right motivation to do the right thing.”
The group of 15 to 20 Savannah-based marshals always strap on Kevlar vests before starting their day of warrant services and arrests because “they never know what’s waiting on the other side of the door.”
A battering ram, entry shield and variety of firearms is standard equipment used during services.
At the end of a long day, the marshals pack in it and prepare to start the game all over again the next day.