Butler Township commissioner says Trump rally police were 'strictly for traffic control'
Edward Natali says the local police force was left 'completely demoralized' by the 'finger pointing' in the aftermath of the Pennsylvania rally shooting and describes what happened when the gunman aimed at an officer attempting to get on the roof.
BETHEL PARK, Pa. – The Butler County district attorney pushed back against the Pennsylvania state police commissioner's testimony as law enforcement continues to point fingers over the security lapse at former President Trump's Pennsylvania rally.
In a press release Wednesday, Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger attempted to clarify the succession of events following Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Col. Christopher Paris' congressional testimony.
Paris said Tuesday that in a meeting before the shooting, "We were told that Butler [Emergency Services Unit] ESU was responsible for that area, by several Secret Service agents on that walk-through," referencing the building from where Thomas Crooks took shots at the former president.
Paris said it was his understanding that ESU officers left their post to look for a suspicious person. He said he was not sure if those officers could have seen Crooks if they had stayed at their post.
Goldinger said that Paris' testimony "misstated" local law enforcement's response after snipers first spotted Crooks 20 minutes prior to the shooting.
TIMELINE: TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Law enforcement agents stand near the stage of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The district attorney said that the two snipers snapped a picture of the "suspicious individual" who was seated outside the American Glass Research complex and circulated it along with noting that he was a "suspicious individual" to the command center for the Secret Service and the PSP.
The press release said that "at some point," Crooks got up and moved to the other side of the building, prompting local law enforcement to move within the building in an "attempt to keep eyes" on the suspect.
One sniper, from his location inside the building, noticed Crooks was sitting on a picnic table with a backpack at the front of the building.
One of the officers then ran outside to look for Crooks after he was observed running off.
Buildings that are adjacent to the Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Trump, are seen on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Goldinger said that one officer remained in their position on the second floor of the building, despite the second officer following Crooks outside.
The other sniper, who dashed outside to pursue Crooks, returned to their post after unsuccessfully trying to find him.
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"Neither officer could see Crooks on the other building due to the visual angle they had from their location to Crooks' location," the press release said.
A drone view during the police investigation into gunfire at a campaign rally of Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 2024. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
Goldinger said that local law enforcement officers were at their predetermined posts when gunfire broke out.
"Their post was the building," he said in the press release. "While one of the officers did leave the building briefly, it was in response to a suspicious person who had not encountered law enforcement despite them notifying other law enforcement of the suspicious person. Even so, that officer returned to the post, and the post was never left vacant as the other officer remained in the building.
To say that these officers left their post is a misstatement.
"To say that these officers left their post is a misstatement," he added.
"These ESU officers and all of the other ESU officers, volunteered their time to be present for the rally to assist the Secret Service. They performed the duties to which they were assigned."
Col. Christopher L. Paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing at the Canon House Office Building on July 23, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the PSP said that the agency "stands by the testimony."
"Our agency stands by the testimony," they said. "The investigation into the shooting and its aftermath continues."
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Secret Service.
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