Fence jumper probe finds problems at Secret Service

A federal review of how a fence jumper managed to elude the Secret Service and enter the White House found inadequate training, staffing shortages and problems with communications at the agency in charge of protecting the president.

A summary of the Department of Homeland Security's investigation released Thursday night revealed new details about the Sept. 19 events in which an Army veteran climbed the exterior fence, raced across the lawn and entered an unlocked door on the north front of the White House.

The intruder, Omar Gonzalez, got over the White House's protective fence at a point where an ornamental spike, or trident, was missing, the report said. An officer who tried to raise an alarm about the jumper was unaware his radio warnings were not received by uniformed officers.

The report said some officers were unable to see the intrusion because of construction on the White House grounds. Other errors included an assumption by officers on duty that an intruder could not make it through thick barrier bushes and that the exterior White House door would be locked. It was unlocked.

A uniformed officer on the North Portico of the president's home pointed his weapon at the intruder and ordered him to the ground. The officer did not fire when the intruder ignored his orders. The officer saw no weapon and concluded the intruder did not pose a threat warranting lethal force, the report said.

While the Secret Service was familiar with Gonzalez beforehand, the review found that the agency's use of multiple databases with varying levels of access hindered sharing of information and caused agents to underestimate the threat Gonzalez posed when they interviewed him in August, before the intrusion.

The agency is short of staff and routinely requires personnel to work overtime and days off, the report said, and as a result nearly all in-service training had been halted in order to cover required work shifts. The overtime situation means less-experienced officers frequently are over-represented on duty schedules, it said.

The incident was the latest in a string of embarrassing missteps by the Secret Service and led to the resignation of the head of the agency, Julia Pierson.

The report did not discuss any disciplinary actions.

Inside the White House, an officer tried twice to physically take Gonzalez down but was unable because she was smaller than the intruder, the report said. Gonzalez made his way past her into the East Room before heading back down a hallway where he was tackled by another officer, assisted by two plainclothes agents.

Investigators said members of an emergency response team didn't know the layout of the White House and hesitated to go into the mansion after Gonzalez.

Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building while carrying a deadly weapon and other weapons charges.