Police document detailing President Biden's security information found on Belfast street
BELFAST, Northern Ireland – It was Northern Ireland’s largest security operation in a decade, a demonstration of local police power intended to protect a visiting VIP: the president of the United States.
But sensitive details of the security operation unexpectedly spilled into public view on Wednesday when a man identified only as “Bill” discovered a police planning document lying on a Belfast street.
The document, discovered near the hotel where President Joe Biden was staying, included the names and phone numbers of police officers involved in the operation, as well as the streets where they were deployed and other information such as street closures and security measures to detect hostile vehicles.
“It sounds a bit crazy, but it’s true,” the man known as “Bill” said during an interview with The Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster.
The discovery of the Police Service of Northern Ireland document triggered a security breach that embarrassed law enforcement officials but did not disrupt other carefully choreographed events on the first day of Biden’s three-day visit to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Further fueling concerns, the security lapse was uncovered as the terrorism threat in Northern Ireland had been raised to "severe" ahead of Biden’s visit.
Biden departed Belfast as scheduled on Wednesday and traveled without incident to Dublin, where he will finish the remainder of his trip.
The U.S. Secret Service downplayed the seriousness of the security breach and expressed its trust in local authorities.
“While we do not discuss the specifics of any protective operation, the president’s movements were not affected by these reports,” the agency said in a statement.
Jocelyn Keaveny, the Secret Service's special agent-in-charge of the Paris Field Office who is overseeing the Biden visit, called the Police Service of Northern Ireland a "dedicated partner" in the security effort.
"The Secret Service relies on partnerships to provide the highest level of dignitary protection in the world," Keaveny said. "We remain grateful for their ongoing support during the president’s visit."
How the document ended up on a Belfast street remains a mystery. But a law enforcement official who briefed reporters speculated that it may have fallen out of a local police officer’s pocket.
What’s more, the security lapse illustrated how weeks of careful planning involving the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies can quickly be disrupted by something as simple as a misplaced piece of paper.
The Northern Ireland security operation, code-named “Op Rondoletto,” involved weeks of planning and nearly 3,000 local police officers. The planning document, which carried the all-caps heading “OFFICIAL SENSITIVE,” didn’t include any information about the operations of the Secret Service, which oversees the president's security during foreign trips, or its security plan.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/police-documents-detailing-president-biden-142957668.html