Much has been written about the Secret Service’s failure to secure the rooftop of the most obvious sniper hide in the area of Donald Trump. There are two possible conclusions: (1) From the lowest ranking agent present, to present supervisors, to the Director, the Secret Service (SS) is unbelievably incompetent. Or (2) the SS at some level or levels, perhaps on its own or acting on direction from above, was doing all it could to create vulnerabilities with plausible deniability, vulnerabilities they hoped someone would exploit to kill Donald Trump. A related possibility is they were creating those vulnerabilities while someone was simultaneously working to ensure someone exploited those vulnerabilities.

Sadly, we cannot trust government, particularly the DOJ/FBI to produce an honest investigation or truthfully report anything that might reflect badly on the Mummified Meat Puppet Administration.

Graphic: ABC screenshot

We now know with a reasonable degree of certainty the SS and their local law enforcement supports had some 26 minutes to prevent the assassin from shooting at Trump. A variety of citizens saw the shooter and desperately tried to warn police. In a bit of cosmic irony, local police were using the building the assassin climbed as a sort of command post, yet no one was watching the building or the roof.

There is also credible information that at least one sniper/spotter team had the assassin in their sights for some three minutes but were denied clearance to shoot:

Graphic: X screenshot

Some have suggested use of force law, particularly Tennessee v. Garner (1985) prevented snipers from shooting the assassin until they were absolutely sure he was an assassin. In other words, they had to let him have the first shot(s) before they could respond. Deadly nonsense.

During my police career, I supported the SS on several occasions, including protecting George H.W. Bush and Al Gore. The SS is primarily responsible for the safety of their protectees. Local law enforcement is in a support role, and while officers may have specific assignments, it’s the responsibility of the SS to ensure every possible contingency is covered.

That rooftop, even for the most junior local officer present, would absolutely be the first and continuing concern. It was the high ground, the single most perfect sniper nest for an assassin in that area. There was no way that building should not have been covered on the ground and on the roof. Any claim it was outside the SS perimeter is an attempt to hide failure and dodge responsibility.

Police officers, citizens, and the SS can use deadly force when a reasonable person would believe they, or another, is facing an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death. Where the SS is involved, the standard, due to their training and experience, is what a reasonable SS agent would have believed.

If they could not shoot because they were not certain the person on that rooftop with a rifle pointing at Trump—the sniper/spotters could absolutely determine that—because they might be a photographer, or some other innocent, that can only be due to SS incompetence, or perhaps, by design.

At any site, it’s the job of the SS to survey everything, to know without any question, who is allowed to be at a specific place at any time. This is particularly true of places like the most obvious, dangerous high ground in the area, the place any sniper would want to be to take an easy, killing shot at a protectee. Again, that building and rooftop should have been covered so no one could approach it, and certainly so no one unauthorized could have mounted the rooftop.

Also consider this: if the assassin could see Trump, SS counter snipers must have been able to see him. The sniper/spotter team in the graphic above certainly could have and did see him. They were oriented in his direction. Details protecting presidents or former presidents have multiple sniper/spotter teams, each with a specific area to cover. Or at least that should be the case.

In this case, the SS didn’t do their job and the perfect spot for an assassin was wide open. The assassin appeared, and at least one sniper/spotter team could see a man with a rifle pointed at Trump. They had about three minutes to decide what to do. Whether they chose not to shoot, or were ordered not to shoot until the long haired, non-regulation hair length assassin has a chance to kill Trump hardly matters. 

The only reason for hesitation would be because the SS didn’t do their job and sniper/spotters couldn’t be certain who was on the roof, and/or their rules of engagement were unusually strict. But would a reasonable SS agent believe there was an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to Donald Trump?

Your call, reasonable citizen.

NOTE: go to my home site and enter "trump" into the home page search bar to find multiple, in-depth articles on the assassination attempt and related issues.

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.