By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The man who jumped over a White House fence and burst into the White House in September managed to avoid security because of a litany of problems with the Secret Service, CNN reports.
A Homeland Security report found numerous failures that allowed Omar Gonzalez to so easily access the White House. The problems involved lack of training, disorganization and miscommunication.
After Gonzalez jumped over the fence, the radio and alarm systems weren’t working as planned. The canine handler responded too late because he was talking on his personal cell phone.
The canine officer “gave Gonzalez the required verbal warning about the canine, caught a glimpse of Gonzalez heading toward the bushes, and gave his canine the command to apprehend Gonzalez,” the review said.
“The canine, however, did not have enough time to lock onto Gonzalez and may not have seen Gonzalez at all,” it said.
The incident drew harsh criticism of the agency.
“A combination of technical missteps, lack of radio discipline, improper use of equipment and aging infrastructure,” as well as an improper setting on the Secret Service’s radio system, contributed to those problems, it said.
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