Cohen Ryker

Cohen Ryker is a character role-played by CaptainBarb.

General Description
Cohen Ryker is an Officer for the Los Santos Police Department, Badge #415.

Cohen is an Israeli-Greek from the island of Altis. He worked for the Altis Police Department for 12 years before the island was invaded by CSAT forces. He stayed behind for 6 months to assist NATO with ordnance disposal before leaving to continue his career in law enforcement.

Altis Life
Cohen was born on Altis in the capital city of Kavala. Somewhat of a 3rd world country that relied heavily on tourism and exporting peaches for 97% its income, Cohen wanted to support the island as much as he could from a young age. Despite keeping to themselves Insurgent rebel forces were a constant threat to contend with, poking at supply lines and infrastructure, which resulted in a somewhat militarized police force. Cohen joined the Altis Police Department [APD] at 18, patrolling the outskirts of the capital for 3 years before being sky rocketed into command when the Flight Lieutenant was killed in a shootout at an auxiliary airstrip in the north east of the island. Cohen always felt most at ease behind the controls of an aircraft, and was often called on to run transport or scouting missions outside the cities, and immediately applied for the job, and was successful. He excelled in the position, propelling the flight department into the most advanced on the force, training high quality pilots and procuring grants for higher quality equipment from the mainland.

After 7 years, he was offered a position as Captain, which he begrudgingly accepted; wanting to serve as much as he could but was sad to leave the flight department behind, confident in those he had trained to run it well. He didn't spend much time as a captain, stepping up to Major, and then Chief of Police within a few short years, spending 4 1/2 years shaping the department in his image.

The Invasion
It started with a rise in rebel activity. Over the course of several months raids and attacks became more frequent, and the insurgents were becoming more heavily armed. A 3 day shootout ended in the APD relinquishing control of the north-east corner of the island, giving the rebel forces control over the salt flats which served as a landing strip. The morning after the salt flats were secured, CSAT forces landed, setting up an FOB to secure the coast and maintain control over the airspace. The APD and the Altis Armed Forces [AAF] were overwhelmed, and took heavy losses as CSAT took over the island town by town, moving closer to the capital. A state of emergency was declared, and an evacuation point set up in the harbor for civilians to escape as the APD and the AAF resisted from the outskirts, supported by a small NATO battlegroup that was redirected from a training exercise.

CSAT were stretched thin, and some timely reinforcements from NATO resulted in CSAT withdrawing to the east side of the island to reorganize another offensive. This gave both sides room to breath, and intelligence time to figure out the reason behind the attack. Altis was a strategic landmark, and although the report was classified, rumors spread across the AAF that NATO were surprised it hadn't happened sooner, and had failed to properly prepare to withstand such an attack. It was a miracle only a handful of civilians were killed, credited to the exhaustive efforts of the AAF. Cohen stayed behind after the evacuation, assisting NATO in clearing the western side of the island of hundreds of mines and IED's.

Damen & The Rebel
As Flight LT, Cohen spent a lot of time working alongside the AAF, assisting them in training pilots and logistics. He befriended a fellow pilot in the AAF; Damen Esteban. Damen was an extremely skilled marksman, and he traded training Cohen on marksmanship in exchange for advanced flight training, binding them in a close friendship. By the time Cohen was Chief, he considered Damen a brother, as both had become exceptional pilots and marksmen in their own rights, often called upon as a duo to provide air support for convoys and high value escorts.

One day, a rebel wanted for murdering a police officer and his family was spotted fleeing the capital in a pickup. Cohen immediately took the skies with Damen on his bench to provide air support for the pursuit. The rebel was outpacing the following units and had gained considerable distance as he fled toward a stronghold, and it was clear the APD would not have enough units to pursue. The primary unit asked Cohen to end the pursuit before he got too far. He relayed to Damen to take out a tyre and disable the vehicle. The plan worked, however the fleeing vehicle swerved off the road and collided with an abandoned building, trapping the driver inside as it burst into flames. Cohen knew the ground units wouldn't make it in time to save him, so he brought the heli in to land. As he got close, he could hear the driver screaming for help as the flames began to engulf the cabin. He paused, and was immediately overcome with anger and rage, as he came face to face with the man that needlessly killed one of his own. No words were needed as he looked at Damen, who only gave a brief acknowledging nod. Cohen radioed in to the ground units that the driver had been killed in the impact, and to call off the pursuit, taking off again as the flames engulfed the cabin. Neither Cohen or Damen ever spoke of the incident again.

When CSAT forces arrived to support the rebels in the invasion, Damens' unit was captured in what appeared to be a chance encounter with a rebel squad. 3 days later, Captain Damen and his men were found in the burnt out shell of an AAF personnel carrier.