White House Fence Jumper Inquiry Reveals Multiple Secret Service Errors
A newly-released review of the incident is damning.
— -- A newly released review of the infamous White House fence jumper Omar Gonzalez is damning.
The new report lays out a comedy of errors -- including "performance, organizational and technical" failures on the part of the Secret Service.
During the Sept. 19 incident, alarms did not work, radioes failed, officers were out of position as the intruder jumped a fence and ran more than 70 yards before walking right through an unlocked front of the White House.
Receiving particular criticism was an officer with an attack dog. He was his on his personal cell phone talking without his radio earpiece in his ear.
“When Gonzalez jumped the North fence, the Canine Officer was on a call on his personal cell phone ... without his radio earpiece in his ear, and he had left his second (tactical) radio in his locker,” according to the report conducted by the Department of Homeland Security.
He was also without a backup radio which he left in his locker. It contributed to a slow response, the report added.
Overall, the report found that no officer was in position to catch the fence jumper only minutes after the president had left the White house with his daughters.
Even a female guard inside the white house was caught by surprise and overpowered as Gonzalez made his way deep inside.