It’s comforting to think that professionals and experts have a firm handle on the things we entrust them with. We want doctors who cure sickness, politicians who understand the issues and make informed decisions on our behalf and car companies that make safe cars for example. But, as one gets older, it doesn’t take very long to come to the conclusion that the experts in any field are struggling to get it right just like the rest of us. Medical malpractice, corrupt politicians and automotive safety recalls are all regular facts of life.
Sadly, most people apparently haven’t figured this out about public safety and emergency management agencies. Those of us who “back the blue” might even think they’re bordering on infallible, while many criminals think all police officers are expert marksman in peak physical condition. Experience at the range watching police shoot and the emergence of body cam videos on the internet have shown us all that some local cops are pretty far below average, but there’s still a myth out there that the U.S. Secret Service is a much more high-end agency that doesn’t make those kinds of rookie mistakes.
Hollywood has helped to perpetuate that myth. When we see the agency and its job portrayed on screens big and small, it appears that the Secret Service has all of the high points covered out to hundreds if not over a thousand yards away from the people they protect, especially when it’s the president or a presidential candidate. To beat them and get a bullet anywhere near POTUS, you’d have to be even better than Bob Lee Swagger, right?
But, recently a kid who wasn’t an expert of any kind shattered that myth. At a distance of only around 125 or 200 yards (the larger number coming from the former head of the Secret Service), he got past all of the security with a rifle and managed to almost kill a former president and current presidential candidate for a major party. Had he been a little less distracted or a slightly better shot, we would be facing a funeral for President Trump at a minimum and civil conflict the likes of which have not been seen in some time.
Naturally, even Rep. AOC knows that this doesn’t match what any of us thought about the Secret Service. Instead of being solidly protected for hundreds of yards, the safety perimeter for this event was much smaller, leaving significant gaps in security that the shooter was able to exploit.
As the former head of the Secret Service says in the video above, the availability of personnel and funding is a factor when agencies determine where to set the perimeter. With unlimited funding, a giant Not-So-Secret Service could send hundreds of agents out to secure every high spot within a mile of the president and major party candidates and then pay endless overtime to state and local law enforcement to flood the zone with every cop wanting a few extra bucks willing to drive in. Heck, with unlimited money, the agency could pay double over time or even triple overtime to make sure every cop within 500 miles wants to go and cash in.
But, we don’t live in that world. Even the money printer has its limits. While every life is priceless in the eyes of the divine and even a sparrow’s death gets noticed, the federal government of the United States has to set a price on the life of everyone from park rangers to astronauts to the president and then make informed risk management decisions. It may sound cold-blooded, but it’s an unavoidable fact of life in a world that doesn’t provide the unlimited resources that would be needed for absolute safety.
With the illusion of absolute presidential security shattered and the security theater failing to protect beyond the real perimeter, there’s blood in the water. You can bet that there are unhinged sharks out there who smell this blood and think that maybe they, too, could shoot them a president or vice president. For a sick enough freak, it’s the ultimate big game tag.
With the truth out that the Secret Service is just winging it on a limited budget like the rest of us, it makes a lot of sense to move political rallies and other campaign events for all candidates indoors, or at least to a stadium with a raised rim on all sides. The agency is taking a lot of crap for recommending that, but it’s really the only way that the perimeter can truly be secured from rifle fire in the real world.
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