Both seasoned and new practitioners would agree that we need more actual stories from the EP industry. Real-life scenarios in EP can inspire us as well as teach us.
For the next step in our EP Essentials series we invite a number of industry experts to share their stories and discuss challenging situations they faced while protecting high-end clients during many decades of work.
This is the first of many deep dives into some of the most thrilling scenarios requiring split-second decisions. We hope you will enjoy.
Real-Life Scenarios in EP: Hector Robles, FirstCall
Once we had to provide EP services in Mexico to a European client in the mining sector. Usually, mining companies have operations in remote areas/regions that many deem high risk because of pressure groups:
Environmentalists,
Native inhabitants, and
Organized crime groups.
Normally, we do not advise foreigners to travel to those areas as road conditions aren’t optimal, communication coverage may be poor, and top medical support/resources (hospitals) are unavailable or far away.
Real-Life Scenarios in EP: When You Draw Too Much Attention in Mexico
In this service, SUV armored vehicles were a demand from the client even though in these types of towns or cities, it could be hard to drive around because of narrow streets, bad road conditions and/or dirt roads are common to reach the mine.
Armed security and armored vehicles elevate your profile considerably even if one tries not to draw attention. In those towns, it is not common to see a convoy of armored cars just for business if you are not a local/known businessman or a member of a criminal group. Therefore, you are already a soft target, even though you are not a threat or you think you are not a threat.
For these reasons, a helicopter was also part of the means of transportation in case of danger or threats to evacuate the mine site or the town. The aircraft had to stay at the airport as special permission needs to be requested to have a helicopter at the heliport by the hotel. This permission is mainly granted to heads of states or government VIPs, not for business. On top of all that, hotels refuse to have such aircraft on-site for security reasons.
The client’s security team leader, who accompanied the principal, was advised about all these issues and was told about the strict rules. He was not convinced about this situation but accepted the situation and, apparently, also the advice.
However, at 9 pm, we received a call from the hotel manager that a helicopter had just landed at the hotel’s heliport. In addition, that army officials had just arrived at the hotel demanding an explanation as it exposed the security of the:
Hotel,
Guests, and
Nearby residential areas.
A helicopter, armored vehicles and armed security in a hotel are a red flag for organized crime groups. Having a few army officials at the hotel also meant that organized crime groups officially knew about our stay.
The team leader decided to talk to the helicopter captain and demanded the helicopter be on site (hotel) because he was “nervous”. The helicopter captain did not follow protocol as well as he was under pressure despite being instructed the opposite. The team leader did not care about our local advice based on experience in the area and the aeronautic rules.
At that very moment, after talking to the army officials, not even the police, we told the principal about the situation caused by his TL and that we had to decide to have a private jet fly from Mexico City to extract the client and his entire security team of 8 European former special forces in Africa, non-Spanish speakers.
At 11 pm, the jet landed, and by 1145 pm, the jet took off to Mexico City. The plane landed at 3 am, and by that time, we had already rearranged hotel accommodation and secure transportation from the FBO to the hotel (in 4 armored vehicles, by the way) with a completely different security team.
There may be textbook protocols and procedures that may apply to different environments. However, there are situations in which those protocols need to be adapted to local conditions. Even if conditions look like war zones, it does not mean they are war zones.
Organized crime groups act very differently because they mainly attack other criminal groups, not civilians. If you are clever enough, listen and act accordingly, your trip can be very smooth and pleasant. An EP agent needs to understand and be aware of the environment in which he will operate and adapt.
His personality, temper and experience are valuable, but if you hire a local company to help and support you, you need to express your concerns, doubts, and experiences. But most importantly, you need to listen and trust that the local company is trying to protect you and your principal.
You need to adapt. Reckless actions, arrogance and lack of humility are the formula for failure that puts the whole team, locals, foreigners and the principal at risk, not to mention stakes and stockholders worldwide.
In the last few years emergency medical services and hospital services are feeling the crunch of COVID. During this time Medical Professionals have been retiring or leaving the field secondary to the pandemic, and many clients are requesting security personnel with advanced medical capabilities.
Many parts of the country are experiencing delays in EMS response times and increased wait times in emergency rooms due to the shortage of personnel. Therefore, it is important that we as security personnel bridge that gap by providing adequate medical care until emergency medical services personnel arrive and can augment our care.
Integrating medical care and the security plan into the overall Operational Plan can be tricky. Most people are very particular about keeping their medical history private. Most high-end clients, only entrust their physician with this information. And even as a physician, most patients will not be completely honest about everything, sometimes leaving out details such as smoking, drinking history or substance use, that they may feel could be looked upon negatively. So, performing a medical assessment is a sensitive issue in the EP industry.
Medical providers fall under the US federal law, HIPPA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a federal law requiring the protection of sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. As Security Medical Providers we must ensure our client’s medical information will be treated with the utmost care and confidentiality. Also, most security personnel will sign Non-Disclosure Agreements, which further protects the client’s information.
How do you prepare your medical plan to fit with your operations plan? There are 3 components to your medical plan, as I see it.
There is the:
– Client Medical Assessment – an assessment of patient’s overall health;
– Medical Threat Assessment – clients most likely medical condition or injury that could occur at home or during travel;
– Medical Advance – an assessment of medical needs/assets available during travel, which we will discuss later.
Emergency Medical Services: The Game is Changing, It’s Not Just Security
Client Medical Assessment
The most qualified Medical Personnel should perform the assessment. This should be someone with at least a Paramedic certification, or another provider with more training such as a Physician Assistant, Nurse Practioner, or Physician.
It’s best to have the team Medical Director perform the assessment. This should be standardized and can be done in conjunction with the client’s primary physician. There should be at least one advanced provider assigned on each detail who can perform the more advanced medical assessments, procedures, and treatments.
Along with the medical director, the paramedics on the team can help educate others on the team to assess and treat medical emergencies that could occur based on the Client Medical Assessments. Here are the categories we must address in the Medical Assessment.
These are broad examples only and not an exhaustive list.
Any over-the-counter medication they take including all supplements, and herbs that can interact with their prescribed medications;
List of Medications and Dosage.
Allergies: – History of Anaphylaxis?
Medications
Foods
Chemical Exposures
Insect stings (Bee, Wasp, etc.)
Surgeries:
Appendectomy
Cholecystectomy
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)
Extremity surgery, etc
Family History:
Heart Attack
Stroke
Social History:
Smoker
Alcohol
Non-Prescription Drugs.
Physical impairments:
Focal weakness from previous stroke or injury
Vision Impairment
This is helpful in telling providers that these problems are old and not new.
Baseline Vitals
Is your client’s heart rate in the 40’s because they are an endurance athlete, or does their systolic blood pressure run in the high 90’s? These vitals may be normal for your client, but to a new provider who is not aware of your client’s health, they fall outside of the normal range and can be worrisome.
(DNR) Do Not Resuscitate Status/Advanced Directive
Do you travel with paperwork so that medical providers are aware of clients’ medical treatment preferences?
Power of Attorney
Who is making decisions if the client is incapacitated?
Health Screening Prior to Travel
Is the client suffering with an illness, pain, or not feeling 100% prior to a prolonged trip away from their daily medical care or medical providers?
Should you recommend they get checked out by their primary medical team before traveling abroad, to get updated medications or equipment they may need if their condition deteriorates?
Medical Threat Assessment
The second phase of the medical plan is conducting a Medical Threat Assessment.
What is the client’s most likely medical condition or injury that will occur based on the location of movement? Is it just another day moving around the city? Are you flying to another state or country where you will be without advanced medical support? Are you preparing for a long trip to another country, that may be geopolitically unstable?
That all being said, are you prepared for just the most common emergencies?
Most common emergencies happen most often. Based on the Client Medical Assessment, are you prepared to treat the most common ailments that may occur? Knowing your client’s medical background, have you reviewed the signs/symptoms, physical exam findings, and treatment of common emergencies that may occur?
For example, if the client is diabetic and you find the client slurring words and sounding confused, are you aware of the sign and symptoms of hypoglycemia vs stroke? Do you have a glucometer to check a blood sugar?
And when you get the blood sugar reading of 35 – which is low, do you have oral glucose or IV glucose available in case the patient is lethargic and unable to take oral glucose? If after giving glucose and the client is now functioning normally and a recheck of blood sugar is within normal limits, is it likely this was a stroke? The answer is no, it’s most likely just hypoglycemia and there is NO stroke component.
You should consult your medical director and try and figure out why the client’s blood sugar went low. Was it as simple as they skipped a few meals, or did they take too much of their diabetes medications on accident?
Have you been trained on prolonged field care if such an emergency exists? Have you brought enough medications with you to cover the time of travel? What if you lose medications, where will you get replacement medications while out of the country? Can you have your medications delivered overnight express to a foreign country? If medications include controlled substances, is it legal to mail them to the country your visiting?
These are all questions that should be worked out and planned for when traveling locally or abroad.
Emergency Medical Services: The Game is Changing, It’s Not Just Security
Medical Advance
The final phase of medical planning is conducting the Medical Advance. When traveling to another city, state, or country, each scenario brings a different set of challenges.
1. Knowing your client, their family, and friends is essential in preparing for what type of medical care they need if a medical or traumatic emergency arises.
2. Know where the nearest hospitals are located:
What capabilities do they have?
Are they a Trauma Center, Stroke Center, Cardiac Cath Center, or Pediatric Center?
What is the transport time to that facility if the need arises? 5 miles away doesn’t mean 5 minutes away; traffic, road closures, and time of day all should be considered.
Does the region have an EMS service? What is their average scene time?
Are they Volunteer Emergency Medical Services or a 24/7 staffed service? Do they provide Basic Life Support or Advanced Life Support?
3. Do you have advanced medical and trauma equipment with you if you can’t readily access an Emergency Room, i.e you are on a yacht in open waters or on a private jet over the ocean?
Are you equipped to maintain an airway during transport to a hospital?
Do you have an AED or cardiac monitor/defibrillator, and ACLS drugs if you are in a situation where CPR is necessary? Do you have a paramedic or other provider who can administer ACLS drugs such as IV epinephrine and Amiodarone? Do you have the capabilities of treating minor injuries?
Do you have the capability to provide the simplest of medical care so ER visit is not needed? Are you able to splint an extremity injury until further treatment can be sought? Can you suture or staple a simple laceration? Are you able to treat common ailments?
4. Is there endemic disease where you are traveling?
Do you have antiparasitic, antifungals, and antibiotics with you to treat those illnesses?
Do you carry medications for common illnesses, such as cough, diarrhea, allergic reactions, gastritis, and everyday aches and pains?
5. Do you have telemedicine capabilities?
Can you contact your medical director 24/7 or do you have a telemedicine service you contract with?
Telemedicine has become very user-friendly, and can be used with minimal equipment, such as a web enabled tablet or mobile phone. Advanced monitors like the Philips Tempus IC2, which is an integrated monitor and telemedicine solution, is used in remote locations which collect data and transfer it to medical professionals who can offer telemedicine support.
6. Evacuation plan:
If the client is in a remote area, and advanced medical capabilities are not available, how do you evacuate the client?
If you’re on the open ocean, do you have an LZ on your yacht?
Can you get the patient to shore rapidly via a yacht tender?
If you need to evacuate clients back to their home country for more advanced medical treatment, do you have medical transport company relationship already lined up? Are they reliable? Will they allow family or security personnel to accompany them?
Emergency Medical Services – Final remarks
These are some of the basic things one must plan for when working with a client that expects more advanced medical capabilities from their security team. Different details or travels will require a wide range of planning and training.
As these travels occur in areas further away from advanced Medical Care Centers, we must be prepared for all emergencies that could arise. And perhaps be overly prepared for those emergencies that are most likely to occur based on the Client Medical Assessment, Medical Threat Assessment, and Medical Advance we have conducted prior to any operation.
EP Wired sits down with Ivan Ivanovich, Vice President and Partner at WSO – Worldwide Security Options. Ivan is the author of the Amazon bestseller — Protección Ejecutiva en el Siglo XXI, la Nueva Doctrina — which will be available in English soon. But before that, he joins us for a one-of-a-kind interview on everyday security in Latin America, gun use in cartel-controlled areas of Mexico, and much more.
You wrote a book that talks about a new approach to executive protection, one that confronts the typical image of patrol cars, guns, suits, and dark glasses perpetuated by Hollywood. Why did you choose to focus on this exact topic? How did your personal experience inform your writing?
Whether we want to accept it or not, our profession is going through a severe conceptual and credibility crisis. This comes after all the incidents and assassinations that have occurred worldwide, such as:
Attacking two Chilean presidents, one with a bottle of water, another with a rock,
Slapping the French president,
Attacking European presidential candidates with eggs,
The traditional EP that remains almost unchanged for the last 80 years is both obsolete and even dangerous.
The concept of convoy riding around and “waiting” to be ambushed and the brave agents ready to react is proven to be ineffective almost whenever seriously tested. Also, the profound changes in our society provoked by the digital revolution caused that the dark-suited agents are no longer status symbols.
Modern executives don’t want to be surrounded by the diamond formation (four agents around the protected). Many consider this terrible for the image in today’s horizontal and participative society.
That is why, with this book, I tried to propose an alternative concept by sharing my experiences in the last almost 30 years of EP work. But, of course, this is not a single-person endeavor. Many professionals in Latin America and elsewhere are also working on this change that our profession needs so badly.
Data suggest that Mexico’s homicide rate in 2021 was 76.3 percent higher than in 2015. Other countries in the region experienced similar trends. Can you describe the everyday hurdles of security in Latin America and how such tendencies impact the lives of the wealthy and prominent?
Latin America is the most dangerous region in the world. It has the highest rate of homicide, but also kidnapping, robberies, and extortion. In addition, we have the strongest narco cartels, criminal gangs such as Mara and others, and even terrorism problems in some parts of the region.
Our EP professionals deal with these threats daily. Hence, we test our knowledge, concepts, and training every day. Thus, we know very well which executive protection concept really works and which doesn’t.
Surge in Crime
When the crime rate started to rise in Mexico three decades ago, instructors from all around the world came here to teach their methods. But sadly, they mainly taught the traditional ones based on firearms and reactions that can’t be applied to our operational reality.
Unfortunately, many agents and protectees paid the highest price. In fact, many are still paying the application of this noxious method with their lives. Of course, there are many other parts of the world where you can spend your whole life walking around with your gun, black suit, and dark sunglasses, and no one will mess with you — so you may think this system works.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in Latin America. You will probably be dead when you realize that the Bluff Executive Protection doesn’t work. That is why we had to develop new methods and adopt some well-known but non-used methods to deal with the threats we face here.
Wealthy and prominent people are used to having:
Armored vehicles,
Protection detail, or
Security-trained drivers, at the very least.
That is why I think Mexico has the highest number of EP agents per square mile (laugh).
Nevertheless, today executives in LATAM are searching for more discreet and more effective methods of protection. These include anticipated protection focused on reducing the client’s exposure by using protective logistics, and stopping the phases of preparation of the attack, instead of trying to stop the attack itself.
Our principal goal is to frustrate the attack before it happens, during the preparation. Intelligence, counter-surveillance, and early alert operation are proven to be the most effective to that end.
In the executive protection industry, there is an ever-present discussion regarding firearms: to carry or not to carry. What does your experience tell you in this regard? Can you list the pros and cons of bringing a gun with you on an assignment in LATAM?
The question of “carry or not carry” should be determined for each operation based on professional threat assessments made for each particular case. This should not be determined by the client’s wish, default politics, or preference.
In my experience and operational environment, firearms provide little benefit and frequently elevate the risk instead of reducing it.
As for its effectiveness, we studied 122 attacks on prominent figures and world leaders that occurred in the last 122 years in 70 countries. The effectiveness of firearms in that study is only 4.1%.
Also, in our daily operations, they frequently increase the risk: Suppose the protector is armed in an unarmored vehicle and in the face of violent robbery, which is very frequent in Latin American cities. In this instance, the protector attempts to use his weapon to thwart the attack. Yet, in the process, he puts the executive in the middle of a shootout.
During the last year, in different incidents of this kind in Mexico, one protectee died, one agent died, and four others were seriously injured.
The situation is similar if you have a weapon in the armored car because of the “Harfuch effect.” In other words, it’s the impulse under super stress that protection agents have to respond to fire, even while inside the closed armored vehicle, which puts in grave danger all occupants.
Another case is of violent robbery on passersby when the protectee walks. The client generally moves within busy areas with high economic levels and where the risk of armed robbery is very high. Suppose the protector tries to preclude the armed robbery with his weapon. In this case, the action will unleash a shootout with possibly fatal consequences.
Unintended Outcomes
Such a scenario is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in Mexico. The most notorious case was the involuntary murder of the Mexican businessman Adolfo Lagos by his own protective agents when defending him from an armed robbery in 2017.
We can see that the armed agents frequently increase the risks instead of reducing them since the risk of losing a vehicle, a purse, or a watch becomes the risk of losing one’s life or being seriously injured.
In Mexico, many areas are under the control of organized crime, where wearing firearms increases the risks exponentially. Many protectors and protectees paid for this mistake with their lives.
Cartels don’t tolerate armed persons within their territory. In fact, they can confuse them with an enemy cartel or take it as provocation they won’t tolerate. We can never match the firepower of any cartel. Therefore, having any weapons and especially high-profile detail will almost surely provoke a confrontation you can’t win.
Of course, as I said, there are many operational and threat scenarios. Thus, we should carefully assess each case and determine whether we will carry firearms.
Many people imagine Latin America as a no-man’s land, with violent gangs and corrupt government officials everywhere. Can you make a comparison between a hostile and a non-hostile environment in Latin America? What are the typical hallmarks of a secure as opposed to a non-secure surrounding in this region?
Latin America is a beautiful and growing region that attracts many tourists and investors. However, it is not no man’s land. Nevertheless, we have areas controlled by organized crime, but even those areas — some more dangerous than others — have their rules. And if you follow them, your risk will significantly decrease.
We can’t talk about secure and non-secure surroundings. You just have different kinds of threats in each area. For example, exclusive luxury areas that many consider “secure” have the highest rate of passerby robberies and carjackings. So the best thing you can do if you travel to Latin America is to contact a professional security company and receive a recommendation for each specific area you want to visit.
Can you describe your perfect workday during an assignment? What needs to take place so as to have security in Latin America provided at a top level?
The perfect day is when we receive congratulations from the client at the end of the day, no matter what we have to go through and what happened “behind the scenes.” I consider the perfect day on assignment not having last-minute changes in the schedule. The rest we can deal with (laugh).
You only need to contact a professional security company, and there are plenty in the region. Most of the best executive protection specialists I have ever met and operated with are from Latin America or work in the area. In addition, you can receive recommendations from the local ASIS or OSAC chapter.
Can you give us a few words of wisdom for traveling to and ensuring security in Latin America as an executive protection operative?
I can’t give you any word of wisdom because I don’t consider myself wise at all (laugh). However, I think that the most important recommendation for those who travel to protect in Latin America is to be humble and follow the advice of your local contacts and contractors.
Be flexible. The rules that worked for you in other places are not necessarily applicable to Latin America. Many agents that travel to our region try to implement methods and international company politics that can be very dangerous. Latin America is a dangerous but beautiful place. Ultimately, you just need the proper guidance.
For a unique sit-down in our ongoing EPW interview series, we talk to Trevor Canfield, an executive protection manager at Procter & Gamble. Trevor has an extensive background in corporate security, CEO transport, and maintaining records on EP vehicle fleets — to mention a few of his fortes.
Common knowledge in our industry suggests that the principal is most vulnerable in and around the vehicle. Since you have been prominent in providing CEO transport services, in which ways has the threat landscape shifted in this regard over the past few years? Can you describe the latest trends?
As you pointed out, it’s common knowledge in the industry that the principal is at one of the most vulnerable points during transport services. I can’t stress enough the importance of advance work. The most vital concern when transporting a protectee is to limit static and exposure time. You accomplish this through advance work.
Transportation advances should include predetermined primary and secondary routes between all sites you plan on visiting, including:
Hospitals,
Decontamination, and
Safe houses.
This not only allows you to have alternate routes to maneuver through congested traffic. It also gives you the ability to evade a tail, threat, or demonstration and end up in a safe environment. Having the ability to keep moving is a must in protection even if the route becomes longer.
It is always harder to attack a moving target. Therefore, when possible, you should cover arrival and departure areas. Moreover, there should be secondary arrival and departure areas in case exigent circumstances present themselves. Lastly, when possible, the CEO’s schedule should not be published and should be considered for need-to-know use only.
Residential Threats
A recent trend in the past few years is threats to CEOs at their residence. Residential addresses of CEOs are easily obtained from open-source searches and can be a hotspot where threats can potentially have success. Therefore, executive protection managers and agents are not just worried about physical threats that could incapacitate a protectee. We must be on high alert to prevent any embarrassment that can come to an executive during CEO transport or other situations.
In today’s highly charged political atmosphere, activists constantly devise plans and plots to make political or environmental statements. Thus, EP personnel needs to counter these plots through proper advance work.
I could talk about the ins and outs of advance work for days, but I’ll just hit a few main advance techniques to implement to proactively protect your CEO from threats and embarrassment while at his private residence.
Contact your protectee’s local police department and keep a working relationship to share identified threats and suspicious activity noticed in the area. Ask LE to log your information into their CAD system so they contact you in the event of an emergency.
Implement spot checks of your protectee’s residence when they’re on vacation. This allows your EP team to clean up activist flyers, as well as gather intelligence on the group, report suspicious vehicles/behavior, log license plates, ask law enforcement to contact suspicious vehicles/persons (trespass from the property), check for damage of the residence and safeguard any mail/packages being delivered.
Monitor your CEO’s security system if allowed. If not, leverage open-source social media and applications to keep an open ear and eye on the property during non-business hours.
EP teams should constantly research new technology and applications that can assist in providing a safe environment for their protectee.
I’ve read articles where EP managers or agents refuse to carry a protectee’s bag or belongings because it’s considered degrading or they can’t provide quality protection with something in their hands. In our profession, we should be a jack of all trades and a master of them ALL.
Set your pride aside and assist your protectee with bags and other items. This will help you to streamline exposure time and keep company information from being left behind in vehicles or sites.
According to McKinsey, electric vehicle sales in the United States have climbed by more than 40% yearly since 2016. With the advent of technology in EP vehicles, what preconditions should any security professional in the corporate sector meet to be able to provide bespoke CEO transport services?
Reducing your carbon footprint is a socially optic issue today. Accordingly, companies are trying to practice what they preach by transitioning to electric vehicles. However, having experienced going through an electric vehicle purchase process recently for EP use, the biggest issue is availability.
CEO transport usually happens via luxury sedans or SUVs. Most of these vehicles are equipped with some type of aftermarket protective armor that adds extra weight to the vehicle. There are a lot of unknowns regarding fully electric cars for EP. When these vehicles become available, will they have the capability to be upgraded to aftermarket armor, mylar film, and run-flat tires?
If so, how will this extra weight affect the battery life, 0-60 speed, and handling? Other issues include:
Also, the issue lies in using additional electric equipment typically used in EP operations that can affect battery life. Finally, if the car requires maintenance, how long will it take for a technician to inspect and repair the vehicle?
All these factors will change how we advance sites and complete route checks. Until electric vehicles are routinely used in the EP industry, nobody will have answers to how they’ll perform. Presently, I’d recommend continuing the use of gasoline-powered cars until the market and manufacturing of these vehicles meet industry standards.
I also recommend that EP teams continue educating themselves on the EV industry and the capabilities of these vehicles because it’s only a matter of time before EVs enter the EP industry.
Over the decades, we have seen countless failures of EP teams in protecting their protectees at embus and debus. What are the most obvious pitfalls that security drivers can easily avoid during their next CEO transport task?
I touched on this in the previous question regarding trending threats when I stressed the importance of advance work. Still, I’d have to emphasize communicating potential hazards to your protectee so they know the reasons for an arrival pause.
Protectees letting themself out of the vehicle before EP is in place could be detrimental. It never hurts to take a second to scan your environment before opening the door.
Depending on how many EP agents are in your detail, the driver should not leave the vehicle or turn it off. If it’s just one EP agent working the protectee, you have a few options to consider.
Is the arrival/departure area going to be clear? Have greeters, foot traffic, etc. Will the site security assist in your protectees’ arrival?
Drivers are to always remain with the vehicle. It is vital to communicate your wishes with contract drivers. Properly vetting security driver firms is paramount if you use members outside your team.
Upon arrival, ensure your protectee has enough space from the curb to step out of the vehicle comfortably and discreetly. Part of your duties is to prevent the embarrassment of your protectee and ensure safety in and out of the car.
Always ensure a clear drop area if you must depart because of a security incident.
Site dynamics are always different, and you can use multiple techniques. This isn’t EP law, but you should keep it in mind. Always contact the site security director and ask for secured parking for your vehicle.
Suppose you have a driver supplied by a contract transportation company. In this case, make sure you have their contact information and that you’ve informed them of secondary arrival and departure areas and preferred routes. Always ensure the gas tank is full before beginning your assignment and complete a safety check, including vehicle tires.
Where do you see the difference between providing CEO transport on the one hand and transportation services for government officials on the other?
Resources are the most significant difference when comparing CEO transport to government official transportation. In my experience, most EP teams have only one, maybe two EP agents assigned to a protectee during an assignment.
These agents must take on the responsibility and workload of a full protective detail, which could be well over 100 agents in the government, depending on the threat level. When I worked for the U.S. Secret Service, resources were unlimited, and teams were formed to:
That’s not to mention the assistance other federal and local law enforcement agencies provide, which is critical to the mission. For example, government officials have police escorts that can shut down roads, restrict airspace, and implement ramp freezes at airports. As a result, it was almost mandatory for high-level protectees to cover arrival and departure areas.
CEO transport services is an entirely different ballgame. Vigorous planning and communication must constantly occur between each aspect of the assignment. For example, pilots must be informed of protectee meeting departures and ETAs to have the plane ready for departure. Likewise, drivers need to be prepared at the drop of a hat to depart.
Executive protection for corporate America requires soft skills and relationships. EP agents won’t get anywhere demanding a parking space for a protectee or arguing with a driver. There are no badges or flashy titles like U.S. Secret Service Special Agent or Diplomatic Security Special Agent to wow people.
Most EP agents are a one-person show. Hence, you may be unable to implement every protective measure you desire. Still, that’s where knowledge, experience, and research on new techniques and tools can compensate for the lack of resources. In addition, applications such as WAZE, findERnow, and GeoSure are free. But, more importantly, they can be another set of eyes during your assignment.
WAZE
WAZE is a navigation tool that has a social media aspect to it. Users of this app update traffic as it’s happening and add notes to hazards, broken down vehicles, traffic congestion, etc.
findERnow
findERnow locates and gives directions to the closest emergency room to you no matter where you are in the United States.
GeoSure
GeoSure rates neighborhoods you are in by providing a safety score of 1-100 and then breaks down the crimes happening in that area. There are numerous other technologies out there that can assist an EP agent during a transportation advance. These are just a few free applications I like to use to help me when resources are low.
SamDesk and DataMinr
A few other applications that come in handy for my company’s EP team is SamDesk and DataMinr. I use these two applications more for protective intelligence as they comb the internet to locate real-time threats in your vicinity.
You have had an eventful career, to say the least – ranging from deputy sheriff to special agent to EP manager. What words of wisdom would you share with up-and-coming security professionals looking to you for advice?
Join a professional organization such as the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), and take advantage of free webinars, certifications, and message boards. And also attend ASIS chapter meetings to network with other security professionals.
Enroll yourself in a protection school. I promise it will pay dividends in the future. How to complete a proper advance is critical in this field. I was fortunate enough to learn from the U.S. Secret Service. Yet, other schools teach the same concepts (LaSorsa and Associates, Gavin de Becker and Associates).
Don’t be afraid to ask. Ask questions if you’re already with a company and are a newbie in the group. Learn from the seasoned professionals around you. My company is immersed with some of the industry’s top security professionals, and I never stop learning from them.
Step outside your comfort zone and volunteer. Suppose an assignment becomes available, no matter if it’s an EP assignment, security presentation, investigation, leadership session, etc. Make yourself available and take the job. I am constantly looking for ways to better myself. In fact, I make myself available even if I’m not comfortable with it.
Take advantage of your company’s offerings. For example, my company offers to cover 80% of its employee’s college education. I just completed my MBA from Northern Kentucky University.
Takesome advanced medical courses besides basic first aid. For instance, my company’s EP personnel must be nationally registered EMTs.
On Getting a Job
You’ll never get a job you don’t apply for. I hear many people who want to enter this industry talk about how they aren’t qualified to apply for a position, so they don’t use it. My advice would be to apply anyways. You’ll never know what big corporations want in an applicant if you don’t ask or go through the interview process. Some turned me down before, but I learned from my experience and ended up with my current company.
Continue to research certifications and continuing education opportunities. Currently, the Board of Executive Protection Professionals (BEP2) is in the process of creating the first Executive Protection National Standard for the industry. It will be registered with the American National Standard Institute (ANSI).
This new standard will change the course of the EP industry in the United States. It will lay the groundwork for increased industry performance and future training. Additionally, subsequent certifications with a basis on this standard will elevate end users’ knowledge, skills, and abilities and create an elevated working environment within EP.
Few people would argue that executive protection is an easy field to work in. Further, private estate security is a critical element of most CP operations.
In a nutshell, the role of the residential security team and its services are designed to ensure the safety and security of the principal’s home environment. This entails monitoring the outer perimeter and establishing a flexible inner circle, as a way to secure all means of entry.
After all, private estate security programs fulfill a critical protective intelligence function by acting as a static post and base of operations for many protective movements. Especially when corporate offices or a client’s primary estate is the most desirable place for would-be attackers or inappropriate pursuers.
Now, the way this occurs will change based on the situation and needs. For instance, the different situations include:
Property theft and vandalism (vehicles and home),
Trespassing or access by any unauthorized individuals,
Other threats of harm against persons or property.
Determining Security Needs
When establishing a security strategy, a Residential Security Team (RST) must consider all areas that could be prone to breaches, and be sure to amend plans accordingly. But, depending on the nature of the estate, agents will typically be dealing with a large and often complex site with numerous access and entry points, and multiple purposes and users.
Working closely with the protective services team, as well as family members, corporate executives, and other colleagues both in business and social environments to provide outstanding security protection,
Perform access control and ensure security procedures are completed,
Undertake patrols and inspections in accordance with procedures,
Ensure that unauthorized personnel are not permitted in prohibited areas,
Maintain an accurate record of any incidents that occur,
Handle ad hoc duties as the need arises, and
Address any security breaches within set protocols.
Consider this: If a pursuer approaches the corporate office, there is certainly a heightened probability they will eventually attempt to approach the executive’s primary or secondary residence. As such, communication between departmental teams is crucial.
Remember, there is often no substitute for a well-trained man on the ground. Despite the most sophisticated and expensive electronic detection out there, it’s of little value without the ability of people to monitor such equipment.
The Complexity of Private Estate Security
Determining security needs can be a complicated and time-consuming matter and those with responsibility must receive relevant and frequent training. Indeed, any agent charged with providing estate security must proactively observe, identify, assess, and understand what is normal, and can quickly determine an anomaly.
What’s more, these security professionals collect an enormous amount of information on various people, incidents, and activities. At this point, they use the baseline as a standard against which they discriminate between ordinary activity in the environment. And, most importantly, what needs to be investigated further.
Note: A baseline is the accumulation of data from hundreds of hours of observation of activity when protecting the estate. Security professionals can compare activity in that specific area — at that moment — to the already established baseline.
To clarify, the information collected includes, but is not limited to the following:
Local criminal activity and trends,
Suspicious people and/or vehicles loitering in the area,
Attempted contact with the principal by unauthorized persons, and
Suspicious vehicle data (either by visual observation or automated plate recognition systems),
Every vehicle and individual will be logged in and out, as will all visitors coming and going. Certainly, the amount of data a single estate security program can collect in 24 hours, every day for years on end is almost incomprehensible.
Switched-On Agents
For an attacker to successfully approach the principal or estate, they will conduct pre-operational surveillance. Thus, that forces an attacker to venture within eyesight of security. And when they do, they become vulnerable to detection.
Direct observation of potentially malicious activity or pre-observational surveillance is detected by a team that’s switched on and well trained to detect patterns of hostile activity.
Hopefully, when you’re vigilant and doing your job – acting as a sufficient deterrent – nothing untoward happens. For this reason, an agent maintains a low profile while on duty. And has the correct attitude each day.
In other words, learning the nuances of protocol – dress, hygiene, habits, behavior – is pivotal. To conduct oneself in a manner synonymous with the client and the situation one must navigate.
Members of the RST will never dress down. In the majority of cases, they will be ‘suited and booted’ in sharp attire to please the client. What boss wants his guests to look out of the window and see a collection of security personnel dressed and ready for a house painting job? None!
Weaknesses and Hurdles
For one thing, there is an alarmingly high rate of burnout to long working hours. Imagine walking the grounds of a large estate, even in the rain, at night time, day after day for twelve-hour shifts. Boredom and complacency can quickly set in.
Not to mention, it can be hard to stay switched on all the time.
It’s even more difficult to stay motivated and alert, especially when you feel forgotten or resentful about having to open gates to allow colleagues out or accompany the client in his air-conditioned Mercedes. Unfortunately, the job becomes just another wage earned or a way to mentally kick off the days.
At times, professional advisors may be unwilling to tackle such complex tasks. That’s often the case when an overly complicated architecture proves to be the biggest weakness. CCTV, microphones, movement and sensing detectors, and other devices comprise vital technological aides, provided a correct response is implemented should a problem occur.
However intelligent and discretionary things such as a sensory detector might get, there is often no substitute for a Mark One Eyeball during the day (in layman’s terms this refers to using unaided vision to spot something) and the Mark One Ear at night.
At the end of the day, the best security for any residence or estate is the man on the ground.
In an event like no other, a bank robber poses as security guard and tricks staff into handing over cash boxes with GBP150,000 inside.
The conman seemingly dressed the part in a G4S security uniform, helmet, and visor, walked right in. He then showed the Santander bank staff his fake ID. As media reports, the suspect easily walked out carrying six boxes of cash containing GBP25,000 each. Reportedly, this is against company regulation.
It wasn’t until he didn’t come back in to sign the money transfer for the staff to realize something had gone wrong. The penny dropped that they’d been turned over once they called G4S, the security company, only to be told no collection was due.
It seems the criminal had a getaway driver waiting to rush him away from the scene in south London. However, there’s no official confirmation on this yet.
Furthermore, a Santander spokesperson states: “We can confirm there was an incident at our Brixton branch on Tuesday 5th July, and we are working closely with the police to support them with their investigations.”
Authorities fear an insider may have helped in this bankrobber poses as security guard crime.
Questions Have to be Asked
According to news outlets, the robbery is now referred to as “a Noah’s Ark job” due to the cash boxes going out two by two. The strict protocol requires each box of cash to be handled individually. In fact, many are asking should not have given the perpetrator away immediately?
What’s more, sources report that the conman didn’t have the accurate G4S uniform, prompting questions about how he managed to walk into the building and convince staff to hand over GBP150k in cash.
The one silver lining is that the assailant may have ended up stealing six boxes of ruined money. Each case contains coded dyes that would soak the bank notes if anyone unauthorized accessed them.
All in all, the reality of the event holds none of the dramatics you might expect of a bank robbery. There were no masked men with guns rushing in and demanding cash, only to make a speedy getaway as the cops pursue.
It is common knowledge that the principal is most vulnerable in and around the vehicle. There, they are exposed to direct attacks by crowds and malicious actors. Hence, making a good choice regarding executive protection vehicles and trained security drivers seems invaluable. For a brand new piece in our latest EP series, we talk to industry experts about choosing the best fit for your protective detail.
In fact, we all know countless examples of attacks on the principal while exiting or entering the car. However, most are easily preventable with the right mindset, situational awareness, and executive protection gear.
In this article on EP vehicles, we discuss:
Maintenance, selection, and inspection,
Sabotage and signs of tampering,
Safety tips for the principal and the EP team.
Let’s get right into it!
Pablo Ortiz-Monasterio, Co-founder of AS3 International
Many articles on vehicle inspection have been written explaining different aspects of what’s essential and the methodology for carrying it out. Still, they have little effect since these are seldom carried out promptly. So, instead of going into the regular “do this and not that,” let me venture into the core concepts that make the vehicle inspection logic.
As security professionals, especially if we have done an activity for a long time, we tend to think that our experience, intelligence, and agility of thought are the only skills we need to handle complex situations. We call this “professional audacity.” But as human beings, we fall victim to optimism bias.
When predicting what will happen to us tomorrow, next week, or fifty years from now, we overestimate the likelihood of positive events and underestimate the possibility of adverse events. This is just human nature.
For security professionals, an inspection of executive protection vehicles has to do with customer service in most cases. Yet, they can become essential to prevent an attack. However tedious, checklists are crucial to any process that requires reliability, especially when lives are at stake.
In a study performed in Scotland, since their implementation in 2008, checklists reduced surgery mortality rates by 37%.
Checklists should be general and organized by subject. For example, the primary vehicle inspection checklist should include a first aid kit, but it should not have the kit’s contents. This would require a separate checklist. If the checklist becomes too long, it usually gets neglected.
What are the common signs of sabotage and tampering?
There are several types of sabotage or tampering with executive protection vehicles. The most common does not involve explosives or mechanical sabotage to cause an accident. Instead, they are used to get the driver to stop the car from committing a crime or creating a diversion to buy time for an attack. These include:
Noise devices: These are any devices that would cause the driver to stop and exit the vehicle to check on a weird noise. Criminals use duct-taped bolts inside the wheel, or soda cans stuck into the exhaust pipes. These devices are usually very creative but harmless and easy to spot during a vehicle inspection.
Diversion tactics: Some criminals use these to create a distraction that would force the driver to spend more time than usual next to stationary executive protection vehicles. For example, egg whites on the windshield or sticky substances on the door handles. These are hard to eliminate and are usually very successful in diverting the driver’s attention from anything happening in their surroundings.
Assuming that although this could be a prank, it could also be a mechanism to get your attention away from what you’re supposed to do and will give them an advantage over the situation. Getting away from that vehicle and orienting yourself before deciding is essential to your success.
Tracking devices: These used to be big bulky and easy to spot, especially since the batteries needed to power them were big and heavy. However, these have changed over time. Now, Apple Tags and other tracking devices can be easily hidden and are much more challenging to find. Security professionals must perform routine sweeps to find them. Fortunately, Apple Tags usually notify people around them if they are trying to broadcast their location so that a simple iPhone can be used as a bug sweeper. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all trackers.
Mechanical sabotage: There are many ways of messing with a vehicle. Some are easy to spot, like a flat tire. Yet, some are harder to detect and could have different goals, such as stopping the vehicle or causing an accident. Cars are susceptible to tampering, and sensors will alert you if something is wrong with your vehicle. What you do next will determine your success or failure.
On the other hand, some tampering is not that easy to detect. For example, sugar in the gas tank will make your vehicle stop within a few miles from the point of tampering. Again, criminals use all these tactics to stop the vehicle.
Explosive devices: This is the most unlikely of all, and it’s more something that happens in the movies. Yet, it has happened in real life, and it’s always possible depending on your principal’s risk.
So, if, based on your risk assessment, there is a risk of an assassination attempt, then looking for any foreign devices on the vehicle is a must. Anything from a soda cup left on top of the vehicle to anything that just doesn’t fit could be a threat. Knowing your vehicle is key to finding anything that might have changed during your inspections.
What are your top safety tips for the principal and the EP team regarding working in and around executive protection vehicles?
Never remain in a stationary vehicle. Statistically, the most dangerous place in the world is a stationary vehicle. As a protection professional, you must be aware that once your car is immobilized, your options are limited to submission or fighting. (The former being the best bet under normal circumstances.) If the vehicle stops, you’ve already lost.
Under this premise, you must orient your decisions always to leave an exit route and limit your time on a stationary vehicle to the absolute minimum.
The safest place for your principal in the vehicle is the back seat on the right side.
This place is furthest from the first impact area, usually the driver’s door. If a criminal wants to harm you or your principal, his first task is immobilizing your vehicle. Therefore, neutralizing the driver is usually a priority.
This seat has the closest access to the curb, allowing minimum exposure and minimizing stopped time.
Control your vehicle’s surroundings: know where your vehicle has been and who has access. The more you can control this, the easier it will be to avoid unexpected manipulation.
Avoid valet parking when possible. They have unrestricted access to your executive protection vehicles and anything contained in them.
Gerardo Corona, Director at ProRescue Mexico
The protectee’s physical integrity remains the central dimension in executive protection. The largest number of attacks — if not all — are conducted with firearms, so we must talk about armored vehicles. In technical terms, a good EP armored vehicle is defined in two areas of performance:
Ballistic resistance to a specific number of rounds, calibers, bullets’ structure, and their velocities.
Vehicle functionality, or it must be capable of moving safely during and after the attack.
Maintenance, selection, and inspection – how to do them properly?
Armored vehicles find their parallel in F1 racing cars. Both must deliver 100% performance and accuracy in a specific period. For example, it could be two hours in Monaco or two minutes in Sinaloa. So, it is a serious task to select, inspect and maintain a technical vehicle.
In simple terms, the selection must match the operational environment, threat level, and drivers’ skills. In addition, maintenance must be strict and tight to the armoring company revision dates.
If the vehicle is on daily and demanding use, we always recommend reducing it to half the maintenance schedule. For example, if the service manual sets oil revisions every six months, take it to three. And please don’t forget to check tires daily, air pressure, tires’ sides, and tread condition. They are fundamental to obtaining the best performance of all other vehicle components. The same as F1, tires are critical to a winning strategy.
Our suggestion about inspections in standard operations (except in high-risk environments) is simple too. For the daily driver reception, set an inspection log form similar to car rentals or insurance companies (copy from them). Remember to include tires and other fundamental mechanical values such as:
Oil,
Cooling/antifreeze liquid,
Battery,
Electronic connections, and
Fuses.
Then make a quick ride to check warning lights.
A second-level inspection should be conducted with experts using scanners and other diagnostic tools for the powertrain, transmission, suspension, and all electronic components, emphasizing safety systems.
What are the common signs of sabotage and tampering?
If the daily inspection log is accurate and performed by committed security drivers, above 90% of physical sabotage or manipulation attempts should be identified. I could say that the other 10% is in the spectrum of the impressive amount of electronics, telematics, and data in modern vehicles in automotive cybersecurity.
The key concept in managing this problem is access:
Who, when, and how has access to the vehicle?
Therefore, every EP team must map the operational cycle of the car and provide answers to these questions, besides associating the threats and enabling countermeasures.
What are your top safety tips for the principal and the EP team regarding working in and around executive protection vehicles?
Answers are as dynamic as possible scenarios, and tips will vary for every situation. However, I prefer to stick to the principles of the vehicle security quadrant. Thus, the first and general tenet is: Take care of every dimension or area of the quadrant as if you have a clear and present danger.
Work on the driver’s emergency skills with close-to-reality training scenarios.
Maintain your executive protection vehicles to deliver 100% at any time.
Conduct protective intelligence, countersurveillance, and route analysis as a way of living.
Michael Trott, VP of Global Safety and Security at Discovery Land Company
As someone who started his close protection career as a young, professionally trained security driver of a level B-7 armored vehicle in Germany — with a principal who was on a terrorist hit list by the same group who was suspected of targeting and assassinating German banker, Alfred Herrhausen, while riding in his armored Mercedes — I can tell you first hand.
Executive protection vehicles are critical in our business. After this assassination, my keen appreciation of what may save my principal and my life took on a whole new meeting.
Anyone who has been in the EP industry for any length of time will tell you that vehicles are perhaps one of the essential tools in our arsenal. However, just having a car is not enough. And those who don’t take these machines seriously can be a dangerous deathtrap or an extremely beneficial asset.
Medical events and vehicle accidents kill more principals than any other risk factors. Therefore, your ability to drive, maintain and understand an EP vehicle’s dynamics is paramount in our business.
To quote the father of modern-day professional security drivers from around the world, Tony Scotti: “An average driver only needs to be able to use a minimum of 40% of a vehicle’s capability. On the other hand, a security driver needs to be operating with 80% of the vehicle’s capability. This requires training.”
To Tony’s point, driver training is not once and done but should be at least an annual scheduled event for any professional drivers. You don’t go to the range just once, and you just don’t hit the track and skid pad just once either.
There are many vital components to selection, training, inspection, and maintaining executive protection vehicles. Still, in my opinion, I like to keep using the KISS concept when it comes to cars. Vehicles are no different from weapons, planes, medical equipment, TSCM, and other specialized equipment. Engage with an EP vehicle SME to assist on all components but not limited to:
Vehicle selection
If you are using a risk-based program, you’ll need to consider if armored is necessary and what would be the appropriate level. If so, engage with a vetted and trusted armored vehicle manufacturer, and don’t buy cheap.
Sedan or SUV, situation and maybe principal performance may dictate.
Vehicle selection and inspection are paramount when traveling and out of your everyday operations. Allow plenty of advance time to conduct proper checks and switch out if necessary.
Use run-flat tires.
Maintenance
Fluids: While vehicles today are more complex than ever and require professional care, checking fluids is the one thing anyone can do routinely.
Tires: Check all tires for proper recommended pressures, check tread levels and inspect for any obvious signs of wear or tear, nails, cuts, etc.
Maintain good maintenance records and assign this duty to someone with the right level of experience and commitment to the assignment.
Vehicle security
Treat your principal’s and any EP vehicle like the asset it is and keep it locked at all times.
Store your vehicle in a secure garage, alarmed, and under camera coverage.
When on travel, consider using covert Wi-Fi cameras to cover overnight if warranted.
Keep your vehicle clean and the area around your vehicle clean. Before using it again, inspect the car, door handles, windows, and the ground area around it for signs of tampering.
For high-threat programs, know what your vehicle looks like underneath and under the hood and inspect both areas before driving for anything added or out of the norm.
If you suspect any level of tampering, do not use or open the doors, clear the areas and call the proper authorities. Use a backup vehicle/s and consider this as a possible attempt on your principal’s life and consider other necessary countermeasures.
Sometimes, the little things we don’t consider make a big difference.
Always know where the keys are and when possible, have a second set of keys on you or one of your teammates.
Know how to operate every single component of your vehicle, every team member, as you never know when you might have to jump in the driver’s seat, including door locks, windows, climate front and back, radio and SAT channels, etc.
Depending on your risk factors and a major decision, consult with an SME about disengaging the driver’s airbag. In the event of an emergency evacuation or defense, driving your driver’s airbag does not deploy and impact their ability to drive in a crisis but doesn’t make this decision likely.
Seatbelts. Simple, everyone wears them without exception, especially the driver and principals.
Finally, and what has been an emerging threat for many years now that most have not taken seriously enough is that most executive protection vehicles today are a significant cyber risk.
Once a smart vehicle is hacked, it must be considered that a skilled adversary can do everything. They can track, change settings, take over key controls, and even listen to conversations inside your vehicle — just something else to keep you up at night.
In Conclusion
In our second article on EP essentials, we discussed how inspection, maintenance, and selection of executive protection vehicles play a prominent role in ensuring a safe driving environment for the principal and their entourage.
To wrap it up, here are the main takeaways:
Don’t succumb to optimism bias. In other words, don’t believe that adverse events are less likely to affect you.
Implement checklists, as they are crucial to prevent attacks on principals in and around executive protection vehicles.
Be wary of noise and tracking devices, and diversion tactics.
Know that explosive devices are the most unlikely of all.
Keep armored cars in mind when traveling to more volatile areas with a high risk of firearm attacks.
Consider that vehicle selection must match the operational environment, threat level, and drivers’ skills.
Know that daily inspection logs help identify above 90% of physical sabotage and manipulation attempts.
Note that an EP vehicle can either be a dangerous deathtrap or an extremely beneficial asset. It all depends on the protector’s mindset.
Keep in mind that a security driver needs to operate with 80% of the vehicle’s capability.
Finally, as we got into the nitty-gritty of executive protection vehicles, we hope to have directed your attention to some less-known aspects of this topic.
Thank you for tuning into our latest article on EP essentials. Subscribe down below for more of our content!
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shot during his election campaign speech in the city of Nara. The attacker shot Mr. Abe in the back, twice. One of these bullets entered his neck, causing him to fall to the ground.
Devastatingly, Mr. Abe did not survive, succumbing to his wounds in hospital.
According to Kyodo News, his attacker has been arrested. Police have apprehended a local man in his forties, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, a Japanese navy veteran. The alleged attacker remains in custody. The assassin used a homemade shotgun made out of two pieces of pipe attached to a wooden board, with a grip and electronic firing mechanism fitted underneath.
Longest-Serving PM Dies
Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister in history was in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment. From the latest information, Shinzo Abe died at 5:03 p.m. (0803 GMT), almost six hours after being shot.
It remains unconfirmed, but Abe most likely suffered cardiopulmonary arrest.
Official reports claim Mr. Abe suffered a gunshot wound to the right of his neck. Furthermore, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency confirm the politician experienced subcutaneous bleeding from the left side of his chest.
Video footage on social media appears to show gun smoke coming from behind Abe as he addressed the crowd. Two shots are heard in the video. In the background, bystanders can be noted screaming in shock and disbelief.
Eyewitness accounts report seeing a man carrying what they describe as a large gun. Not long after, the suspect is seen tackled by security personnel on the street.
What’s more, Chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters: “Such a barbaric act can never be tolerated, and we strongly condemn it.”
Shock and prayers from leaders across the globe continue to flow in for what they term a cowardly attack on former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe.
Nation in Shock
The fatal shooting of a prominent political figure is profoundly shocking. Particularly in a country priding itself on its safety.
We know Japan as a place where gun violence and political attacks are an extreme rarity. After all, this is a country with some of the strictest gun laws means weapons are extremely difficult to own.
For this reason, many people will be asking what was the gun used and how did the attacker get hold of it?
Local news broadcaster NHK attests that the weapon the attacker used, and the police seized, was a handmade gun.
And yet, the bigger question may be how the shooter was able to get within a few feet of Mr. Abe with a team of security police around him. There seems to have been a lack of any sort of check or barrier system.
On the July 4 Independence Day parade in Illinois, a gunman on a rooftop opened fire at spectators with a rifle in what has been described as the Highland Park shooting. The rampage sent hundreds of bystanders to flee in terror, with the number of people killed and injured rising to 38.
Many of the deceased victims were found dead at the scene. Another person succumbed to their injuries in the hospital, while dozens are still recovering from their injuries, the authorities report.
Within hours, police arrested a person of interest: Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo III.
Coming from a firearm owner that has carried them for years on the job, I grew up heavily hunting as a young person in Alaska, but I’m not the biggest firearm aficionado. I occasionally enjoy them but don’t really care about them, which gives you an atypical perspective.
It’s always a political hot button issue, but purposely avoiding political statements, the issues are complex but certainly include mental health problems and lack of support for the mentally ill overall.
The United States has approximately 400 million firearms, around 120.5 firearms per 100 residents. No gun control laws established will cut down on mass shooting deaths though laws are passed and championed as a pseudo-band-aid for the issue.
If we pass strict gun laws, what does that do for the 400 million firearms already in circulation? Our 2nd amendment is a staple of the country and written into our constitution, so guns are not going anywhere… whether you want them to or not. Think about the war that would be sieged if the government-mandated firearm confiscation, so that can’t be a realistic solution.
There are plenty of law-abiding firearm enthusiasts in this country. So why do people think magazine capacity will cut down on deaths? It doesn’t take long to switch an empty magazine with a full one, especially if you’re trained though it’s easy to blame large-capacity magazines.
In most cases, there are pre-incident indicators of violence that mass shooters display, but not many people are trained in prevention and know where to report these signals. Would they be taken seriously if shared with local, state, and federal law enforcement? Likely not, as they are busy with active crimes. Also, they don’t have the infrastructure or proactive systems to handle this as it’s typically all reactionary.
Ultimately, hurt people tend to hurt other people.
What about our culture of online bullying?
Were you the kid that made fun of the “weirdos” in your high school?
Were you a bully?
What is the biggest issue?
Violent video games?
Our overall culture of desensitized brutality and violence?
Fame and media coverage of these horrible death dealers?
Does anyone really have the answers?
And can we have a civilized discussion without shitting on each-others viewpoints?
Police arrested 22-year-old Robert Crimo after they named him as a person of interest. Allegedly, Crimo is a Donald Trump-supporting rapper with a seemingly successful music career. The suspect, otherwise known as ‘Awake the Rapper’ has more than 16,000 listeners a month on Spotify.
What’s more, the suspect was known to law enforcement for the disturbing content he shared online. However, it’s not yet known if he committed other crimes.
Most recently, the alleged suspect shared a video of a beheading.
In the past, Crimo posted a drawing of himself shooting people online and an even more disturbing clip of himself throwing bullets on the floor of a classroom in some sort of joke about school shootings.
The alleged suspect has been taken into custody after a brief chase near Lake Forest.
Moment gamer teen is arrested
Furthermore, Illinois city authorities are still investigating where the fatal shooting took place. They ask that people stay clear of the region.
Gun Used in Highland Park Shooting Obtained Legally
Illinois city Mayor Nancy Rotering stated about the Highland Park shooting: “I don’t know where the gun came from, but I do know that it was legally obtained.” That’s because Highland Park signed a city ordinance banning assault weapons in 2013.
Highland Park Mayor knew Robert Crimo from when she served as the Cub Scout leader. Back then, he was enrolled as a Cub Scout. Yet, Ms. Rotering told NBC Today that she knows very few details about Mr. Crimo’s personal life.
Further still, the mayor is trumped by the fact that somebody this angry and hateful can take it out on innocent people who were out enjoying a family day out.
For this reason, Ms. Rotering says: “I want us to talk about the fact that there are weapons of war on our streets that people can legally obtain – and then take out dozens of people.”
It’s importnat to realize that a pattern of mass shootings continues to haunt communities across the nation.
The shooting in Highland Park was the most tragic attack this holiday weekend. A tragedy to be investigated with complete transparency to hold those guilty accountable.
It’s been a few eventful days for Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo. First, one staff member crashed his EUR2,1 million Bugatti Veyron. Second, the celebrity’s personal protection team allegedly got into a heated exchange with Menorca Airport guards. In fact, the latest Cristiano Ronaldo security episode has again emphasized the importance of respect and preserving our tranquility.
First off, eyewitnesses report that Cristiano Ronaldo security personnel entered a verbal confrontation with the airport’s security control guards. The reason? An alleged delay that happened when one of the airport staff members set off a security sensor.
At this point, all hell broke loose! As a matter of fact, the security control guards threatened to call the Guardia Civil — a Spanish law enforcement agency. However, Ronaldo’s bodyguard responded by saying they could call “whoever they wanted.” Supposedly, he spoke so because he used to work for Portugal’s police service.
When Guardia Civil officers entered the scene, they managed to quiet things down. Still, the whole ordeal resulted in the former Juventus player leaving the airport with a 30-minute delay.
In the course of the incident, eyewitnesses confirmed that Ronaldo remained “serious,” not getting himself involved.
This article highlights a potential pitfall for EP operators who can falsely assume their principal’s net worth or public image afford them special privileges. It’s always important to remember that all lives have the same value.
Of course, certain persons’ profiles are exposed to greater threats requiring augmented security. A great EP operator will use their soft skills and preparation to create the stakeholder relationships that are necessary before having to use the perceived status of their principal to exit a difficult situation.
In fact, many external stakeholders, especially with high-net-worth principals, may resent the status and respond with non-helpful behaviors. Therefore, investments in diplomacy will always go farther than forcing your way on a perception of status.
Pundits believe that the person who engaged in the altercation with the airport security is the same individual who crashed Ronaldo’s car just days prior. The argument they present for this claim is his splinted finger. Allegedly, it came about due to the car crash when one of Cristiano Ronaldo security personnel collided with a wall.
As for the bodyguard’s identity, journalists were unable to identify them. Yet, some speculate that it could be one of the two identical twins that make up Cristiano Ronaldo security entourage.
Finally, this story proves how fellow practitioners must not succumb to the belief that they can behave recklessly just because they are protecting some of the world’s wealthiest and most prominent individuals. Ultimately, the fact that a person is a soccer superstar or any other major public figure does not give them any special rights.
To wrap it up, here are two questions for you, EP Wired readers:
How do you think protection agents can suppress their egos in such situations?
What techniques do you or others in the industry use to remain calm and collected in incendiary circumstances?
