Security guard who rode elevator with Obama while carrying a gun says firing 'unjust'
The security guard fired after accompanying President Barack Obama in an elevator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta while carrying a gun says his dismissal was "unjust" — and media coverage of the event has been "a nightmare."
“From the reports, I was some stranger that entered the elevator,” Kenneth Tate told the New York Times. “I mean, I was appointed.”
Tate, who had worked for 10 years as a CDC contractor, was carrying a CDC-issued firearm during Obama's Sept. 16 visit — a violation of Secret Service protocols, which state that only agents and officers for the agency should be armed while in proximity to the president.
It was later revealed that Julia Pierson, then director of the Secret Service, did not inform the White House that Tate was armed. Pierson subsequently resigned over a series of security lapses, most notably when a White House fence jumper armed with a knife gained entry to the White House. That incident, which occurred three days after Tate's fateful elevator ride, prompted a congressional hearing.
It was also erroneously reported that Tate was a convicted felon, but the ex-security guard and his former employer say that while he had been arrested several times — most recently in 1996 — no felony or misdemeanor convictions appear on his record.
The CDC assigned Tate to accompany Obama, who was visiting its headquarters for a briefing on the Ebola epidemic. The 47-year-old Chicago native says he struck up a conversation with the president.
“He acknowledged me, said, ‘How you are doing?’ He said, ‘What’s your name?’" Tate recalled. "I told him my name, and he extended his hand, shook my hand, and I said it’s a pleasure to meet him. And I proceeded to escort him upstairs.”
But Tate was later scolded by the Secret Service for taking cellphone photos of the president's motorcade leaving. After Obama left, agents interviewed him and ordered him to delete the photos from his smartphone. After the interview, the CDC pulled his badge on the spot, and formally terminated him the next week.
According to the Times, Tate's 27-year-old son, who had also worked as a CDC contractor, was dismissed two weeks later.
“This was unjust and has been a nightmare,” Tate said. “I’ve tried to rationalize it. It won’t go away.”
Related video:
