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Butler Township: Local Police Were 'Strictly' Tasked with Traffic Control
Breitbart ^ | 7.17.24 | HANNAH KNUDSEN

Posted on 07/18/2024 8:48:37 AM PDT by conservative98

The local police officer who was hoisted up to the edge of the roof and spotted former President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin is not to blame for the carnage that unfolded, Butler Township Commissioner Edward Natali said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily, explaining that the mainstream media are not accurately telling the story of what actually happened.

The news has been inundated with stories of an unnamed local police officer who encountered the Thomas Crooks prior to the shooting, largely placing blame on that officer. But Natali said that is not fair, nor is the story accurate.

He explained that seven local police officers — Butler Township Police Department officers — “were strictly there for traffic control.”

“When you look at Secret Service, Pennsylvania State Police, Butler County Sheriff’s Department, the Butler Township police only responsibility was traffic detail, and I’m not going to comment on any other entity that was there, but I want to set the record straight,” he said, noting comments from many who are placing blame on local officers.

(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: biden; bs; butler; butlerrally; dhs; donutwatch; homelandsecurity; kimberlycheatle; mayorkas; police; secretservice; trump
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1 posted on 07/18/2024 8:48:37 AM PDT by conservative98
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To: conservative98

“I want to tell you about my officer. He was not climbing a ladder. He was not in a position to engage the suspect at all,” he said, explaining that there was an officer on the ground hoisting him up with cupped hands so he could investigate what was happening on the roof.

“He’s peeking his head up to see where the suspect is,” he said, explaining that the suspect spotted him as he had his hands on the roofline.

“The suspect turns his rifle and points it at the head of my officer. Obviously, he’s not in a position to engage him by any means, and he did not retreat,” he made clear.

“It’s not that he didn’t want to engage,” he said, explaining that he could not engage, as he let go of the roof to try to grab his gun, but he fell backwards and was injured in the process.

“He let go of the roof to try to get his gun, and of course, he fell backwards, actually getting injured in the process,” Natali said, expressing the belief that the officer encountering the suspect likely “forced him to shoot, maybe in a more hurried-up rate.”

“I’m looking at it that we unfortunately lost people, but he saved President Trump’s life by forcing him to hurry up and not having his shots made as accurate as he could have,” he said, emphasizing that local police were not in charge of that building, either.


2 posted on 07/18/2024 8:50:13 AM PDT by conservative98
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To: conservative98

I don’t blame the kicker who misses a 60 yard game winning kick.

I blame the team that put him in that situation.


3 posted on 07/18/2024 8:51:52 AM PDT by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh
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To: conservative98

I can accept, in some circumstances, mistakes were made. It’s evident that the locals tried a little harder than the SS. I don’t advocate for any action against any local LEO involved. I do, however, believe that a breach of this magnitude requires the head of every LEO agency involved that day to find the testicular fortitude to do what is right and tender their resignations.


4 posted on 07/18/2024 8:52:17 AM PDT by dware (Americans prefer peaceful slavery over dangerous freedom)
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To: conservative98

Butler police are not going to get thrown under the bus by the Feds. Good for them.


5 posted on 07/18/2024 8:53:25 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: conservative98

Those officers ran to danger! No running in circles shouting “what do we do? where are we going?” Watch the Feds ding them for abandoning their traffic control post. Seems like the locals were the only ones on the ball.


6 posted on 07/18/2024 8:57:31 AM PDT by NonValueAdded
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To: conservative98
Every new and additional bit of information about this cluster boink is more and more damning for Mayorkas and that crowd of ham fisted creeps around him!
7 posted on 07/18/2024 8:59:24 AM PDT by SMARTY (In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. Napoleon Bonaparte I)
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To: WeaslesRippedMyFlesh

Lemmie git this straight-—I’m a cop on traffic patrol, and witness a bank robbery, so I guess my only responsibility is to make sure the get away car has the right of way, to avoid an accident.


8 posted on 07/18/2024 9:00:37 AM PDT by Ed Condon (subliminal messages here in invisible ink)
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To: Ed Condon

Not quite. You’re on traffic control and you hear on the radio that there’s a bank robbery. You get there just as the robber jumps in the getaway car. You note other departments ignored it. The feds, who had the bank staked out, blame you for letting the robbers get away. That’s what the town cops say is happening. They are telling the feds, we won’t be your scapegoat.


9 posted on 07/18/2024 9:14:54 AM PDT by Betty Jane
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To: Ed Condon

Not quite. You’re on traffic control and you hear on the radio that there’s a bank robbery. You get there just as the robber jumps in the getaway car. You note other departments ignored it. The feds, who had the bank staked out, blame you for letting the robbers get away. That’s what the town cops say is happening. They are telling the feds, we won’t be your scapegoat.


10 posted on 07/18/2024 9:14:58 AM PDT by Betty Jane
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To: conservative98
Did they not see a ladder? No recon of the building? Did they not know officers (SS or local LE) were in the building?

This whole thing is getting stupid. I call it the fog of war. Talk about disinformation, the Dems are really good at it!

11 posted on 07/18/2024 9:22:37 AM PDT by jeffc (Resident of the free State of Florida)
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To: Ed Condon

(BCTP) Chief Natali, in the same article:

“It’s still being investigated. I’m going to say that that building was discussed earlier in the week. That was confirmed to me. I wasn’t directly in the loop of all the preparations, but I can tell you, my team had a very good operational plan for that day, but it was all traffic control,” he said, explaining that while he does not want to point fingers, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s excuse of the slope of the roof was absurd.

“I didn’t measure it, but does that slope of that roof actually look more than the slope of the roof over at the HDR compound. … I heard your segment about, you know, incompetence and inept this and stuff,” he said. “Maybe it’s the Peter Principle. Maybe she should go back to guarding Pepsi bottles versus protecting our presidents, and I know that’s kind of snarky and that’s usually not in my character, but it’s — God forgive me for that.”


Clearly mistakes were made, but blaming his officers for their failure to prevent this tragedy isn’t fair based on his statement. If the building was discussed and there was no plan that the SS was going to protect/cover the roof, with their own or local (PA State Police, Butler County Sheriffs, BCTP) officers, there’s a huge problem at the top.


12 posted on 07/18/2024 9:22:45 AM PDT by mjustice (Apparently common sense isn't so common.)
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To: Magnum44

The locals were not in charge. They saw what was going on and said, hey we gotta do something! They were unprepared. This is the SS fault, they had ‘control’ of the operation.


13 posted on 07/18/2024 9:22:51 AM PDT by Indy Pendance (“A bullet couldn't stop Trump. A virus just stopped Biden.”)
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To: conservative98

It’s now come out that the SS were aware of the shooter on the roof for 10 minutes before Trump took the stage. How in the world could they let him take the stage in that situation? An unidentified man in a prime sniper spot.


14 posted on 07/18/2024 9:25:16 AM PDT by circlecity
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To: Betty Jane

Well said.😎👍


15 posted on 07/18/2024 9:26:54 AM PDT by moovova ("The NEXT ELECTION is the most important election of our lifetimes!“ LOL...)
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To: circlecity

That’s one thing that blows my mind. They knew he was up there at least 20 minutes before he opened fire. Even if they didn’t see he had a rifle or connect him with the earlier reports of a suspicious man with a rangefinder, that is plenty of time to send someone to confront him. “Hey buddy, what are you doing up here? This is private property. You’re going to have to come down.”


16 posted on 07/18/2024 9:46:35 AM PDT by EnderWiggin1970
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To: Ed Condon

Excellent!


17 posted on 07/18/2024 9:50:20 AM PDT by bunkerhill7 (Don't shoot until you see the whites of their lies)
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To: conservative98

The Butter Police Dept is not allowed to use surveillance drones.
The Secret service does not know what a drone is.


18 posted on 07/18/2024 9:52:59 AM PDT by bunkerhill7 (Don't shoot until you see the whites of their lies)
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To: conservative98

Was Oswald the only Shooter?


19 posted on 07/18/2024 9:59:57 AM PDT by bray (It's not racist to be racist against races you do not like.)
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To: jeffc

Was the ladder there before the shooting or after to get the body?


20 posted on 07/18/2024 10:01:05 AM PDT by bray (It's not racist to be racist against races you do not like.)
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