Chatham County Sheriff's Office

## Lore Overview

The **Chatham County Sheriff's Office** (abbreviated as CCSO) is a county-wide law enforcement agency that polices Chatham County, Georgia. They are seen operating north of the Halfmoon River inside the United States of America, particularly around the coastal town of Whitman Bay, having a small but functional sheriff's office located there. Alongside the United States Armed Forces (USAF) and occasionally contractors from the Desert Corporation (DECorp), the CCSO makes sure to keep the peace and ensure public safety for the surrounding inhabitants.

## History

Before the Flash, the CCSO did exist and was in charge of policing duties within their jurisdiction in Chatham County, alongside other municipal law enforcement agencies in towns with enough funding to have them. However, when the Flash occured in early November of 2032, most if not all of its deputies left their duties behind to look after their families in the post-apocalyptic hellscape that emerged. Those who remained to continue their duties in some capacity were recruited by the United States Civilization Preservation Force (USCPF), the precursor to the USAF, and Government Civil Support Agency (GCSA).

Around the time of the Reconstruction Era, the southern states as well as much of the eastern half of the country began to civilize, rebuild, and resettle land that was once uninhabitable. With the focus of the USCPF's military activities elsewhere, the duties of law enforcement around the Halfmoon region would need to be passed down to a different organization, and in mid-2081, a vote to create a sheriff's office was passed. Weeks later between August 10 and September 2, voting for the county's sheriff would take place, with a man by the name of Maxwell Blaine becoming elected. Under his administration, he would reinstate the Chatham County Sheriff's Office and get loans from the state to fund the department for equipment such as tools, weapons, vehicles, and the now iconic blue uniforms.

Progress was halted with the Atlanta Crisis in 2096 and the start of the Second American Civil War, however, as most of its employees went to join the USCPF to begin fighting against rebellious sects of the Civilian Defense Front and the now self-proclaimed People's Republic of Tidewater (PRT). It wasn't long until the war came to Chatham County, as with the loss of New Atlanta to the PRT, the USCPF was in a complete rout from Georgia. As a result, there was little the barely staffed CCSO could do to prevent them from marching into both Southside and Whitman Bay, which would be dismantled during the occupation of the county, with any deputies arrested and/or executed. Maxwell Blaine would lose his life during this time defending his home from the PRT.

When the USCPF returned in a counteroffensive in 2098 and pushed the PRT back across the Halfmoon River, the area was in a sorry state, and with the death of the CCSO's sheriff, a replacement would be needed. As a result, the son of the former sheriff, David Blaine, was elected to fill his father's shoes and continue the legacy he left behind after his time in the army. David Blaine has been the sheriff of the CCSO ever since.

## Operations

As the main law enforcement entity in Chatham County, the CCSO conducts a variety of activities throughout its jurisdiction, including within the US side of the Halfmoon region. These activities include cracking down on the smuggling of illegal weapons and Dew, as well as protecting the public against more unorganized crime. To manage handling crimes efficiently with the limited number of deputies in its ranks, CCSO high command determines where the focus of manpower should fall into when it comes to managing all districts in the county. Whitman Bay falls into one of the smaller districts, reflecting the even smaller station in Whitman Bay from which around twenty deputies report to.

## Relations

#### United States Armed Forces

The CCSO is a loyal organization under the state's justice department in preserving the rule of law, and naturally maintains a positive and beneficial relationship with the military. As a result in martial law in the region, military police and sometimes regular infantry can be seen cooperating with the deputies in law enforcement duties both in Whitman Bay and the Chatham County area.

#### Royal Commerce Organisation

The RCO is an ally of the US both economically and militarily and maintains a heavy presence in Whitman Bay. Relations between the two are warm, and they have traded with the organization before.

#### Desert Corporation

Alongside the USAF, contractors from the Desert Corporation also assists in patrols in Whitman Bay. Unlike the US, however, relations between the CCSO and DECorp are shaky, as the two sides have butted heads on multiple occasions.

#### People's Republic of Tidewater

Traitors to the union, the CCSO assists the US in the apprehension of its spies, and potentially soldiers if the need arises, found inside Chatham County as well as its citizens found to be in the country illegally.