Body camera footage shows Butler Township police officers scrambling to gain rooftop access to reach the gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump last month, expressing frustration with the U.S. Secret Service for failing to heed their warnings to secure the roof.
Twelve videos obtained by The New York Times via a public information request show the movements of Butler Township Police Department officers during the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The footage shows that the officers located the shooter, Thomas Crooks, at 6:08 p.m. and worked to gain access to the roof before he opened fire a few minutes later.
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While the shooter failed to kill the former president, he murdered one attendee and injured two others. Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have raised questions about the security at the Butler rally and how Crooks gained access to the rooftop a few hundred yards away from the event.
In the footage, officers call for a ladder to gain access to the roof moments after the assassination attempt. In the aftermath of the shooting, officers near Crooks’ body can be heard making comments about what had just transpired.
“What are the chances? What are the [expletive] chances?” one officer remarked.
Another Butler Township officer can be heard saying that he told the Secret Service to have security around the area where Crooks fired, stating that he warned them days before the rally.
In a statement provided to The Christian Post, a spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service confirmed that the agency is aware of the newly released body camera footage and is currently reviewing it.
“The U.S. Secret Service appreciates our local law enforcement partners, who acted courageously as they worked to locate the shooter that day,” the spokesperson stated. “The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was a U.S. Secret Service failure, and we are reviewing and updating our protective policies and procedures in order to ensure a tragedy like this never occurs again.”
The Butler Township Police Department did not immediately respond to CP’s request for comment.
Police responded to reports of a suspicious person, according to the footage, and one officer began surveying a nearby forest around 6:04 p.m. as Crooks scaled a building in the opposite direction.
The officer’s body camera appears to show Crooks walking on the roof of one of the buildings a few minutes later, according to The Times, but it is unclear if the officer saw the shooter.
Four officers congregated on one side of the building, while another officer who had just arrived was hoisted onto the roof. The officer hoisted onto the roof communicated on his radio that Crooks had a gun, with the shooter opening fire a few moments later. Crooks was later killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Regarding the release of the footage, WPXI reported last week that Butler residents appear to approve of the public having access to it, as it allows for transparency. Butler resident Jeff Patrick told the outlet that releasing the footage helps assure people that there is no attempted cover-up.
The office of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a native of Butler, is reviewing the footage, according to WPXI.
Last month, Kelly was named Chairman of the Bipartisan House Task Force on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump by House Speaker Mike Johnson. The task force consists of seven Republicans and six Democrats.
“It’s critical that we investigate, detail, and explain the security breakdowns that tragically killed one person, injured two others, and nearly claimed President Trump’s life,” Kelly said in a statement at the time. “We must never let something like this happen again. The American people have a right to know what happened. Congress has a responsibility to find out.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is another Republican lawmaker calling for answers. In a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, Hawley said Secret Service whistleblowers told him the lead site agent responsible for security at the Butler rally had a reputation for incompetence.
“This specific allegation follows similar public reports that this agent was ‘new’ to the local field office and had ‘relatively little experience.’ The whistleblower alleges that this individual was, as part of securing the site, specifically responsible for line-of-sight concerns,” Hawley stated.
The Republican lawmaker urged Rowe to suspend the lead site agent as an investigation into the claims continues, stating that he finds it “especially alarming” that the agent is reportedly still operational in the field.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
