Review Finds Secret Service Sucks More Than We Thought
A Secret Service agent guarding the White House was chatting on a personal cell phone, did not have his radio earpiece in, and had left a second radio in his locker when a man climbed the fence in September.
According to a review obtained by The New York Times, the incident could have been easily prevented. Stopping short of comparing the Secret Service unfavorably to Paul Blart: Mall Cop – who actually did his job properly – the review found that the officer, who was stationed on the North Lawn with an attack dog, didn’t notice the breach until he saw another officer chasing after the intruder.
The Times wrote that the officer did not have his radio earpiece in, and had left another radio he was supposed to carry in his locker.
The review found that the Secret Service’s alarm systems and radios failed to function properly. When the intruder, Omar Gonzalez, made it to the stairs at the North Portico door, a responding officer pointed his gun at Gonzalez and told him to stop. Believing Gonzalez was unarmed, the officer did not shoot. Gonzalez was armed with a knife.
Once inside the White House, according to The Times, Gonzalez bumped into a female officer and ignored her order to stop.
It only got worse from there.
“After attempting twice to physically take Gonzalez down but failing to do so because of the size disparity between the two, the officer then attempted to draw her baton but accidentally grabbed her flashlight instead,’’ the report said. “The officer threw down her flashlight, drew her firearm, and continued to give Gonzalez commands that he ignored.’’
And then it seems the intruder knew the White House better than the people paid to protect it and its inhabitants.
The review says two officers stationed in the White House, assisted by two plainclothes agents who had just finished their shifts, tackled Gonzalez while several officers, who said they did not know the layout of the building, were stationed outside.
The Department of Homeland Security issued the report. It isn’t public yet, but members of Congress were briefed on Thursday and an executive summary was obtained by The Times.
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