Law enforcement in the United States is decentralized and fragmented. Sometimes the system works well. Sometimes lack of coordination can be dangerous.
The Secret Service and local law enforcement often were not on the same page during the July 13 rally where a would-be assassin fired at former President Trump, the agency said today. In a summary of its internal investigation into the assassination attempt, the Secret Service said those communications breakdowns — both before and during the rally — are the reason the attacker was able to get close enough to fire at Trump.
Some local agencies were apparently coordinating with one another more than with the Secret Service, the report says, which led to a lack of follow-up even after some officials questioned the way snipers were positioned. Secret Service agents "were not apprised of how focused state and local law enforcement were in the minutes leading up to the attack on locating the suspicious subject". Otherwise, they might have been able to get Trump off the stage before shots were fired.
Read the Secret Service summary.
