Katia
Lieutenant
Posts: 420
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Post by Katia on Jun 15, 2023 19:42:23 GMT -5
I think part of this is that the military already looks bad for the A-Team escaping all the time. To add on by harassing hard-working people that have been hounded by bad guys looks even worse. They already have to arrest the bad guys the team captures, so it would seem worse to come back and bother people that have been helped by the team. Plus, after the team has done their job, it seems likely that they don't believe the team will come back. Oh yes, the team wouldn't come back, but people could possibly give info on how to contact them, things that were said that might imply where they'd be next, etc. Enough of this and even if you don't find out outright where they'll be next or where to contact them*, you can start building a pattern In addition, if word gets around that if you hire the A-Team, you can expect a not-so-nice visit from the military, fewer people would probably hire them. The military has two things at their disposal: incentive of a reward, or threats of legal action. *Someone's* going to be susceptible to one or the other (or perhaps both). The army are going to look bad either way-- either because they're aggressive about pursuing leads, or because once again they're failing... and failing because they're not even making an effort. If the latter, whoever hired these people as investigators ought to be fired along with them. *(How does one contact the team? Do we ever find out the exact process? Is it a word-of-mouth thing where you just have to hear the right rumors and talk to the right people? So then what? Do you go to Mr. Lee and he vets you and then you go from there?)
Another point to remember: the military can not charge civilians (i.e., non-military) with a crime under normal conditions (periods of martial law, which was not in place during the 1980s, is an exception). Only the local District Attorneys (or Solicitors as they are known in South Carolina) can bring criminal charges against civilians. Police officers can bring charges for low-level offenses (such as failure to yield right of way), but those are not applicable here. Could they be charged federally, though? Definitely they wouldn't be charged under a military court, but does the government really have no recourse for civilians committing crimes against the military? Well, the military did get to Kid Harmon's dad....or rather, his dad got to the military! Do you think he would have been willing to collect the reward? I think he was holding a flyer that was offering a reward when he contacted the military. As well as the nosy wannabe neighbor dude in the episode with Stevi Faith...
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amyk
1-Star General
A-Team Fan Extraordinaire
Posts: 19,471
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Post by amyk on Jun 15, 2023 21:04:39 GMT -5
How could I forget about him?! Joe, right? He was funny, though.
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Post by HannibalSmith on Jun 16, 2023 10:48:57 GMT -5
They could be charged in Federal Court for violations of Federal Law, but not for violations of Military Law.
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Katia
Lieutenant
Posts: 420
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Post by Katia on Jun 19, 2023 20:18:36 GMT -5
Right. So, threat of legal action is still on the table.
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Post by Pico Bob on Jun 25, 2023 5:39:13 GMT -5
Thank you for your expertise! I wanted to ask whether in real life the Military Police would be allowed to pursue the A-Team in the way we see in the show? The MPs are often lying in wait and then extensive car chases might happen, as in ONE MORE TIME. In that ep and in many others there are often no civil authorities in involved. (Sometimes there are, as in the road blocks in BOUNTY.)
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Post by HannibalSmith on Jun 26, 2023 15:24:13 GMT -5
Thank you for your expertise! I wanted to ask whether in real life the Military Police would be allowed to pursue the A-Team in the way we see in the show? The MPs are often lying in wait and then extensive car chases might happen, as in ONE MORE TIME. In that ep and in many others there are often no civil authorities in involved. (Sometimes there are, as in the road blocks in BOUNTY.) They legally could, but in a lot of situations, they would better protect the public by not pursuing. A lot of police departments around the country have a no-chase policy for that very reason.
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Katia
Lieutenant
Posts: 420
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Post by Katia on Jun 30, 2023 21:17:23 GMT -5
In the 80s, though? I thought the big "no-pursuit" backlash came about in the 90s or early 2000s...
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