PrintSecret Service Director: Oh my God
All roofs are sloped. It’s necessary for water run off. Even roofs that aren’t peaked are sloped. While it’s possible some adults might not be consciously aware of this simple fact of building construction, one might expect someone who spent 27 years in the Secret Service, and who is its current director to know that. One would think wrong:
Graphic: X screenshot
‘That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,’ she told ABC News in an interview Tuesday.
“She” is Kim Cheatle, the Director of the Secret Service.
‘And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.’
What?! One only secures a building from the inside if they expect someone to assault the building, not when the threat is outside the building.
What transpired instead was a security nightmare: Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to scale the building and secure his own position, while law enforcement struggled to locate him even amid pressing warnings from members of the Trump crowd. But there wasn’t sufficient time to act on the tips, she explained.
Law enforcement and the Secret Service had at least 26 minutes to locate and neutralize the assassin. Perhaps if the Secret Service wasn’t trying “to secure the building from inside” they could have sauntered outside and watched one of several citizens point to the assassin, who was clearly visible—and shootable—from the ground.
‘The shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion,’ Cheatle said. ‘Unfortunately, with the rapid succession of how things unfolded, by the time that individual was eventually located, they were on the rooftop and were able to fire off at the former president.’
Graphic: police snipers not bothered by roof slope. X Screenshot.
Uh-huh, and why did snipers let the assassin take 8 or so shots before killing him? And how is it various other snipers—and the assassin--didn’t seem to be bothered by roof slopes? Oh, but it’s soooo much worse:
Graphic: Assassin not bothered by slope. ABC screenshot.
VIA CBS – There were three snipers stationed inside the building the shooter used during Saturday’s shooting of former President Donald Trump, a local law enforcement officer with direct knowledge of the incident tells CBS News.
The operations plan had them stationed inside the building looking out windows toward the Trump rally. The information about the three snipers being inside the building was first reported by BeaverCountian.com.
Posting snipers inside a building at ground level is incredibly stupid. That badly limits their field of view and fire. When things go wrong, it will take them far too long to get into position, orient and prepare to fire. Every sniper available should be on the high ground, which gives every sniper a smaller zone to cover, making everyone faster and more effective. If these guys were looking out windows, how is it they all missed citizens frantically pointing out the assassin on the roof above their heads?
One of the snipers inside saw Thomas Matthew Crooks outside and looking up at the roof, observing the building and disappearing, a local law enforcement officer tells CBS News.
And of course, did nothing.
Crooks came back, sat down and looked at his phone. At that point, one of the snipers took a picture of him. Crooks took out a rangefinder and the sniper radioed to the command post. Crooks disappeared again and then came back a third time with a backpack. The snipers called in with information that he had a backpack and said he was walking towards the back of the building.
According to other media accounts, that building was being used as a sort of rallying point. Why didn’t one of the snipers, or any of the other personnel in the building go outside and intercept Crooks? They had more than enough opportunities, or was securing the building from the inside more important? Didn’t any of them consider Crooks’ behavior sufficiently suspicious to compel them to action? Didn’t they have radios to contact officers who weren’t securing the building from the inside?
Officers believe that Crooks might have used an air conditioning unit to get on top of the roof.
By the time other officers came for backup, he had climbed on top of the building and was positioned above and behind the snipers inside the building, the officer said.
And not one of those officers and snipers thought that just maybe the assassin might have climbed up on the most obvious and dangerous sniper perch in the area? None of them saw the citizens frantically pointing at the roof and yelling “he’s up there with a rifle?”
In a sane presidential administration, Cheatle would have already been fired. Now? Well, she fits right in with all the other executives in the Mummified Meat Puppet Administration.
Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
