Officers surprised with Trump rally responsibilities: Source
- Butler Township Police Department has 12 full-time patrol officers
- Sources close to the department say they did not expect security roles
- They had expected to handle traffic responsibilities
A person is removed by state police from the stands after guns were fired at Republican candidate Donald Trump at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania
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(NewsNation) — Local police authorities were stunned areas outside of Donald Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally perimeter were assigned to them prior to the attempted assassination of the former president.
A source close to the Butler Township Police Department says officers were surprised they were assigned partial responsibility for the area outside the Trump rally perimeter, especially with tall buildings.
Given the size of the department — Butler Township Police has 12 full-time patrol officers — they had believed traffic operations would be their duties, as opposed to security measures.
The Secret Service ultimately killed shooter Thomas Crooks, 20, who grazed the ear of Trump, killed father-of-two Corey Comperatore, 50, and injured two others.
The source tells NewsNation that Butler police believed the Secret Service perimeter would have been much larger.
The Secret Service maintains several local agencies were supporting outside the perimeter, although Butler County DA Richard Goldinger says localized tactical teams were not assigned to the building from which Crooks shot.
Opinions as to the efficacy of the Secret Service have been questioned in the days since the near-death of former President Trump.
Conspiracy theories have proliferated across social media, with some believing there are too many aspects that do not add up.
The Secret Service will “participate fully” in an independent review into the events which transpired on Saturday, its director, Kimberly Cheatle, said Monday.
