Former Orlando Police Chief shares viewpoint on attempted assassination of Former President Trump

ORLANDO, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, resulting in panic as he was surrounded by Secret Service agents and rushed into a vehicle.

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A former fire chief attending the rally was killed, along with the gunman, while two others were critically wounded.

The shooter was able to get remarkably close to the stage where Trump was speaking, prompting a swift response from law enforcement.

WDBO spoke with Former Orlando Police Chief, Orlando Rolon, to discuss law enforcements response and safety measures taken during the rally.

“The planning gets underway well in advance of the (Presidents) visit, you have teams that are deployed in advance to go to the site where they’re hoping to do the rallies or the visits, they scout the area, they meet with all the different entities that are associated with the site,” said Rolon. “Then you have the law enforcement component, where you have local, state, and federal agencies come together, go through briefings and they identify who is responsible for what task, from something as simple as the security on the site, to the transportation requirements, and you have layer after layer after layer that is put in place and each discipline is then responsible for ensuring that each layer is very tight.”

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The Former Orlando Police Chief said during his tenure, his work with the local field office for the Secret Service was top notch and outstanding in their preparation when a high-profile dignitary would come to Central Florida.

“When the news came out, and you really started hearing about this (Trump attempted assassination), it really leaves you scratching your head, how could this have happened,” said Rolon. “Especially, the way this has unfolded and the way that this individual was able to get to where he got.”

Former Chief Rolon said securing the perimeter is an elementary portion of the preparation and should be something checked off as a non-issue.

“Any line of sight, any point of advantage to an individual who could potentially bring harm to the protected, is one of the core principles of the areas that you make sure you cover when you are planning for these events,” said Rolon. “This is one rare (event), based on my experience here in Orlando, with all the entities that were responsible for coordinating this, it doesn’t make sense that it happened.”

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Fifty members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team have been deployed to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to enhance safety and security.

The sheriff’s office expressed its dedication to supporting other agencies in times of need and emphasized its readiness to assist in maintaining order at the RNC.

Listen to the full interview with Former Orlando Police Chief, Orlando Rolon, on the Anez Sez podcast:

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