At 10 am Wednesday morning, the doors opened at Reunion Arena in Dallas for a large Barack Obama campaign rally. The security procedures sounded pretty routine — officers scanned attendees at the entrances, checking their belongings before they could enter. But by 11 am, a new order was issued: just let everyone in.
Security details at Barack Obama’s rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.
The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.
Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department’s homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order — apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service — was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena’s vacant seats before Obama came on.
“Sure,” said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a “friendly crowd.”
Now, I try not to be paranoid about these things. For that matter, security procedures for presidential candidates aren’t exactly my area of expertise.
That said, I’m can’t say I’m especially encouraged by a phrase such as “seemed to be a ‘friendly crowd'” — especially given that it meant untold thousands attended that rally without so much as a visual look-down.
I held off on writing about this yesterday, because it just seemed too bizarre. Why would the Secret Service intentionally end screening after just an hour?
Regrettably, follow-up reporting doesn’t help matters much.
The U.S. Secret Service on Friday defended its handling of security during a massive rally in downtown Dallas for Barack Obama, saying there was no “lapse” in its “comprehensive and layered security plan,” which called for some people to be checked for weapons, while others were not. […]
“There were no security lapses at that venue,” said Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington. He added there was “no deviation” from the “comprehensive and layered” security plan, implemented in “very close cooperation with our law enforcement partners.”
Zahren rebutted suggestions by several Dallas police officers at the rally who thought the Secret Service ordered a halt to the time-consuming weapons check because long lines were moving slowly, and many seats remained empty as time neared for Obama to appear.
“It was never a part of the plan at this particular venue to have each and every person in the crowd pass through the Magnetometer,” said Zahren, referring to the device used to detect metal in clothing and bags.
He declined to give the reason for checking people for weapons at the front of the lines and letting those farther back go in without inspection.
I guess what I’m most curious about is whether the Dallas event was somehow unusual, or whether screenings end all the time and this one just drew more attention.