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Internal review reveals series of Secret Service blunders at White House

 
Members of the Secret Service talk during a shift change on the north steps of the White House Monday in Washington. [New York Times]
Members of the Secret Service talk during a shift change on the north steps of the White House Monday in Washington. [New York Times]
Published Nov. 14, 2014

WASHINGTON — An intruder was able to climb a fence and enter the White House in September because of a succession of "performance, organizational, technical" and other failures by the Secret Service, according to a damning review by the Department of Homeland Security.

The review found that the Secret Service's alarm systems and radios failed to function properly, and that many of the responding officers did not see the intruder as he climbed over the fence, delaying their response.

It said that Omar Gonzalez, the man charged in the incident, could have been stopped by a Secret Service officer who was stationed on the North Lawn with an attack dog. But the officer did not realize that an intruder had made it over the fence because he was sitting in his van talking on his personal cellphone.

The officer did not have his radio earpiece in — and the second radio he was supposed to have was in his locker. It was only after he saw another officer running toward Gonzalez that he was alerted to the incident. At that point, the officer gave the dog the command to attack, but the dog had not had a chance to "lock onto" the intruder "and may not have seen" him at all, according to the review. Gonzalez continued into the White House.

The review has not been made public, but members of Congress were briefed on it Thursday. An executive summary was obtained by the New York Times.

The review of the Sept. 19 breach is part of a much broader investigation of the Secret Service being conducted by the deputy secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. That investigation is focused on other incidents in which the White House fence was scaled and how security at the White House could be improved.

Mayorkas is also expected to provide recommendations on who should succeed Julia Pierson as the Secret Service's next director.

Pierson resigned after the September breach as well as other security lapses by the agency.

The review also found that the agency mishandled its investigation of Gonzalez in the months before he succeeded in entering the White House.

The bulk of the report focuses on what happened on the evening of Sept. 19, from the time officers noticed Gonzalez outside the White House. Gonzalez did not appear to show any odd behavior, so the officers did not talk to him or alert their supervisors.

An hour later, at 7:19 p.m., officers on Pennsylvania Avenue saw him climbing over the fence at a point where one of the ornamental spikes was missing. The officers ran toward and told him to stop, but he continued over the fence onto the North Lawn.

One officer made a call over his radio that someone had gone over the fence, and an alarm was sounded. Two officers approached Gonzalez with their firearms pointed at him and told him to stop. Gonzalez continued running, and the officers decided not to use lethal force because they did not believe he was armed.

One of the officers followed Gonzalez into the bushes in front of the North Portico, but lost sight of him. The summary said that the officers "were surprised that Gonzalez was able to get through the bushes" because "prior to that evening, the officers believed the bushes" were too thick to pass through.

It was at that time that the officer with the dog joined the pursuit.

An officer stationed nearby was unable to see what was occurring because his view was obstructed by trees and bushes. That officer "was unable to hear any comprehensible radio communications about alarm breaks or Gonazlez," until he had gotten close to the North Portico entrance.

"By the time the officer exited his vehicle and began yelling commands at Gonzalez, Gonzalez had nearly arrived at the bushes," according to the summary. "The officer was unable to reach Gonzalez before he entered the bushes and, as a result, went around the bushes toward the North Portico only to find that Gonzalez had already entered the White House."

An officer stationed at the North Portico door could not hear on the radio what was occurring and had an obstructed view. Instead of remaining at the door, the officer took out his weapon and took cover behind a pillar. The officer put his finger on the trigger of his gun, pointed it at Gonzalez as he came up the stairs, and told him to stop. But Gonzalez continued running and the officer did not shoot him because he did not believe Gonzalez was armed. It was later discovered that Gonzalez had a knife.

The wooden doors at the North Portico were closed and the officer assumed they were locked. "Believing that Gonzalez was trapped, and concerned that the canine might erroneously lock onto him, the officer chose to remain in place and out of the way" of the other officers who were chasing after him.

But the doors were not locked, and, Gonzalez entered the White House. A female officer stationed inside the door "heard unintelligible noise on her radio" and "looked outside the window and saw the officer right outside next to the pillar with his gun drawn."

The emergency communication system at her station had been muted. As she tried to lock the doors, Gonzalez "barged through them and knocked her backward." She told him to stop, but he continued on to the East Room.

"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."

Gonzalez entered the East Room, but then exited, heading down the hallway. Two officers stationed in the White House, assisted by two plainclothes agents who had just finished their shifts, tackled him.

Outside the White House, several officers, who said they did not know the layout of the building, were lining up in a tactical formation." By the time they entered," the report said, "Gonzalez had already been subdued."

No Secret Service agents or officers have been disciplined in connection with the breach. Such action will likely not be taken until after the larger review is complete.