Murcko, p20
So that being our role, our role was we were to be hidden inside of the building, which is completely different than what the Secret Service counter snipers’ role was.
And what I mean by that is, as a counter sniper, you are going to be positioned near the individual you’re protecting, looking out, whereas where we were positioned, we were outside looking in, reporting what we could see going on within the rally.
What I – we were inside the building looking out. What I was referring to is we were outside the perimeter.
That being said, the Secret Service counter snipers – the way a counter sniper sets up is they are protected from the rear. In their case they had a very large field behind them, and their visibility or their silhouette would have not been visible, I don’t believe, from the roadway outside of the perimeter of the rally area.
If we position somebody on the roof of the AGR building, we would have a security issue 360 degrees around us, which is not a very wise decision in placing a sniper or counter sniper.
Like I said, the counter snipers from the Secret Service were protected from the rear. They didn’t have to worry about what was going on behind them.
(ehh?) (pict: Tyler’s dashcam)
(I think these are some guards at the backyard of the rally.)
Putting yourself completely outside of the perimeter area on the roof of a building where a threat could come from any direction, now instead of focusing on the rally itself and the people inside the arena, you have to be worried about what’s going on behind you, to your right, to your left, which is – it’s, in my opinion, a very dangerous position to be in. You wouldn’t position somebody in that scenario.
Q: Would it be fair to say that your assigned post inside the AGR building, that was in line with your expectations in terms of where a reasonable or diligent post would1 be for a sniper?
A: Correct. Yes, it is.
Q Okay. Did you ever share any pictures of a suspicious person with the U.S. Secret Service counter snipers?
A: I did not.
Q: And for the record, again, did you receive any ops plans or information from U.S. Secret Service counter snipers?
A: I did not.
Q: Have you ever worked with Beaver ESU in the past?
A: I have. Multiple times.
We’ve done trainings together. We’ve assisted them on several incidents in Beaver County. They assisted us on a shooting in Butler County. So multiple times.
Q: And if you could go back, sir, can you describe specifically your assignment location?
A: So I was on the second floor of the building. I believe it was the southern side of the building, second floor, third window, going west to east.
The home team will have the lead. The other team is to be assisting. So if an incident occurs in Beaver County and we are asked to assist, we show up and do what is asked of us. And that’s the way it’s supposed to work both ways.
Q: And in this particular situation, how did it work?
A: They – I can’t speak to the other operators from Beaver County that were there that day. I can only speak to my interaction with and .
set up for observation on the window at the end of the hallway facing west. We had our area of responsibility. And that’s what we were to focus on that day.
Q: How many snipers were on your floor?
A: Originally three.
Q: And then did that change?2
A: At approximately quarter after 4, [Woods] had to leave. I believe he was attending an event with his family, and he left that day.
So the way we were set up in the office, my rifle remained at one window all day till, obviously, the shooting; the same with . So we were able to move throughout that second floor window to window with binoculars to get a better observation of what was going on around the building.
Q: Did anyone come to take over [Woods]’ spot?
A: No.
- ([Woods]') (So one might guess the last letter is an s.)
Q: So to be clear, you and were sort of going between or sort of moving between the three locations, then, rotating?
A: Correct.
Q: Okay. And can you go through what the rotations, the timing, how that all worked out? Did you stay at a certain point for a certain period of time? Or can you go into detail on that?
A: So not specifically. I was at my position, my window, from 10:45 that morning until probably about when [Woods] left.
The only time I left my – I had two windows in my office – or I’m sorry. I had one window in my office, and then there were two other windows that I rotated amongst which was in a matter of 20 feet, rotated between those windows. Short of using the restroom, that was the only time I left.
Q: What communication resources or devices did you and others from Butler ESU have available on July 13?
A: We had our county radio system as well as our telephones, cell phones.
Q: During July 13 were you able to communicate with other law enforcement personnel?
Other members of the team. Yes, absolutely.
Beaver County’s ESU members were also issued Butler County radios so they could communicate.
On the channel that we were using, ops 4, that would have been all operators and sniper personnel on scene that day were on that channel.
Q: Do you think you need a map to refresh any recollection?
A: I would – in all honesty, I would like a map to show you guys exactly where my position is. I think that might clarify things –
Q: I have four different maps, and I’m happy to give you all four, and you can just choose whichever one you like best.
Actually, there are two maps, two pictures.
--------------- 8< ---------------
p25