The Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. Trump
/Over the course of the last two days, I have watched a torrent of misleading social media posts on the attempted assassination of the 45th President Donald J. Trump. They are maligning the men and women of the United States Secret Service, and I feel compelled to address them.
As some of you are aware, I spent a number of years assigned to the NYPD’s Intelligence Division and part of my role was dignitary protection. In this capacity, I performed countless protection assignments, working hand in hand with the USSS, Capitol Police, and State Department Diplomatic Security. I was the principal architect of the NYPD protective security detail for both the planned visit of Saint Pope John Paul II at Shea Stadium and the actual visit at the Aqueduct Racetrack. I also did the security detail for President Bill Clinton’s visit to Shea Stadium for the Jackie Robinson Memorial. So I am extremely well versed in the planning and implementation of security details.
What happened in Butler, Pa. was an aberration and something I am still trying to wrap my head around. I do not have all the details, but what I will say is that there was clearly a breakdown. A full investigation of this incident needs to be conducted, preferably at the Congressional level and under oath, and swift action should be taken if warranted.
With this in mind, I will give you my thoughts, based on my experience, and what I would have done if this was my site.
To be successful, protection details involve the coordinated efforts of both the US Secret Service and members of state and local police agencies. The USSS simply does not have the manpower resources to provide 100% independent coverage, so they rely heavily on local law enforcement to augment their numbers. In NYC, the USSS was able to count on the men and women of the Intelligence Division which had decades of experience in protection assignments.
Since the building where the shooter was located was in the external perimeter, it was most likely allocated to be secured by local law enforcement by the advance team doing the security survey. Clearly, something happened, and that roof was left uncovered. The question of why this occurred is of paramount importance. Even though this rooftop was in the external perimeter, the fact that it was so close, and had a line of sight to the protectee, would make it a priority. If this had been my site, I would have had a post-stander assigned and would have personally ensured that they were in place before the protectee arrived for the event.
There are reports that civilians attempted to alert law enforcement to the threat prior to the shooting. I have seen nothing that counters this assertion, so I will take it as fact. If someone was notified and or assigned to this post, then we need to know why they failed to identify the threat and take action.
The next question that comes to mind is what the communication setup was. There can be a significant delay in relaying information if there is not a dedicated interagency communication hub. Was the information coming in from local authorities being properly relayed to their USSS counterparts? One personal story that comes to mind is the time we were transporting a dignitary via a secondary motorcade route. I was in the helicopter, doing a quick advance survey on the route, ahead of the motorcade, when we observed a bridge in the upright position on a maritime navigation route. The last thing you want is a protectee’s motorcade coming to a full stop. Fortunately, me and my USSS partner were able to alert the motorcade in time to slow it down, so that it never fully stopped, while a Highway Patrol car was able to get the bridge put down right before the motorcade arrived. It is an inconvenient truth, but despite the best planning, mistakes can and do happen and you have to respond accordingly.
I am also hearing widely disseminated reports that the Counter Sniper Teams (CST) in place were local law enforcement and I must take issue with this. The CST I saw in the news coverage is the USSS CST. A lot of time has passed since I did protection, but I cannot imagine a high-threat protective detail using the local law enforcement as the primary CST within the inner perimeter. I can only assume that this was a mistake in the rush to get information out. I back up this statement with the fact that the CST shown in media footage is wearing a USSS back patch on his BDUs.
What concerns me more regarding this is the lack of immediate action once the threat was recognized. The USSS CST is considered one of the best, for obvious reasons, and the distance between them and the shooter was ridiculously close. What I want to know is what the rules of engagement were? Was CST given the green light to take the shot, once the threat was identified, or were they advised to stand down? If they were told to stand down, what was the reasoning for this? Again, this is something that needs to be investigated fully.
I also want to address an issue that sickens me. Far too many people are disparaging the females assigned to the detail. The response from the protection detail was immediate and swift. In two seconds, they had secured President Trump, providing physical coverage and assessing his injuries. That Trump was not immediately evacuated has caused many to criticize the USSS, but this is unfair and speaks volumes about the lack of knowledge concerning protection. This is seconds after the shots have been fired, your protectee is hit, and you don’t know the extent of the injuries or if there are other threats. Do you exit stage left or stage right? The limo is a hardened location, but are you running into an ambush? These are the questions going through your mind and you need an answer from those ahead of you before you make things worse.
You had two CSTs providing over-watch, along with USSS Counter Assault and local tactical units providing close support. Additionally, there were other protective measures nearby that I will not mention for security reasons. The detail did what they were trained to do. Once it was made clear that there were no other threats, they evacuated. Each of them, including the female agent on the stage, willingly put themselves in the line of fire, using their bodies as cover for the protectee. If you have never done this, perhaps you should sit this one out on providing morning after commentary.
This also cannot be compared to the attempted assassination of President Reagan. In that incident, they were adjacent to the limo when the shooting occurred and therefore it was the only logical place to go.
Many are also attacking the one female agent for not being able to holster her weapon. In the aftermath of a shooting, when adrenaline is flowing freely and you are scanning for secondary threats, nitpicking on a topic like this is ridiculous. Making comments that disparage female agents says more about you than it does about them. I have over two decades in law enforcement and I can tell you that I have worked with females who were absolute beasts when it came to doing their jobs and ones I would gladly go into battle with. Yet I cannot say the same for some males I worked with. Remember the old adage: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
In the end, mistakes and failures will be identified and presumably heads will roll. Congress needs to find out whether there was adequate coverage of the former president, considering the unprecedented threat level against him, and this starts with having both DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle testify under oath. Until we have definitive answers, everything is just speculation, and I urge people to exercise caution until all the facts are known.
The level of vitriol, from politicians, pundits, celebrities, and social media personalities, and the repeated personal attacks against the former president, which have been going on since the day he first announced that he was running for President, reached their natural conclusion in this assassination attempt. As someone who had to deal with threats, I can tell you that this constant barrage of negativity serves as the foundation for warped minds to de-humanize a person and justify such actions. You can have a difference of opinion and you can hold different political views, but that is what we have a ballot box for. I am reminded of a scene in a British comedy show called ‘The Mitchell and Webb Look.’ During one particular scene, they portray two German SS officers and one asks the other: "Hans, are we the baddies?" Today, a lot of people, including the majority of the media, need to be asking themselves this same question.
In closing, I will say this: When you engage in 24/7 attacks, identifying your opponent as: ‘Hitler,’ a fascist, a threat to democracy, and other such inflammatory rhetoric, you are tacitly encouraging this sort of behavior. Anyone who has done this needs to have a ‘Come to Jesus' moment and take a long, hard look at yourself. If you are gleeful that there was an attempt, or saddened that the shooter missed, you need serious help. Corey Comperatore, an innocent husband and father, lost his life protecting his family, others were seriously wounded, and a former President of the United States was almost assassinated. Acceptance and encouragement of this type of action is the real threat to democracy, and it is time for everyone to wake up.
