One day in an elevator with Obama, then out of a job Kenneth Tate toiled for years as a construction worker and corrections officer, and he has no doubt that his last job working as a $42,000-a-year private security guard at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the best he ever had. The high point was an afternoon seven weeks ago when he was assigned to accompany President Obama, who was visiting the agencys headquarters here for a briefing on the Ebola epidemic. It was not only that Mr Tates bosses had entrusted him with staying close to such an important dignitary. It was that, as an African-American born in Chicago, he was going to meet the nations first black president, a man he deeply admired. But by the time Mr Obamas visit was over, Mr Tate was on the way to losing his job. Around 2:25 p.m., the presidential motorcade arrived at the back entrance of the CDC On the elevator ride, Mr Tate said, the president struck up a conversation. He acknowledged me, said, How you are doing? He said, Whats your name? I told him my name, and he extended his hand, shook my hand, and I said its a pleasure to meet him. And I proceeded to escort him upstairs. I was just proud, Mr Tate said. That was a big accomplishment to me. He said one of the Secret Service agents had told him that it was remarkable that Mr Obama had talked to him, considering it had taken the president two years to acknowledge the agent. As Mr Obamas motorcade was preparing to leave the CDC, Mr Tate tried to take a picture on his cellphone as a memento. Angry Secret Service agents told him that he had gotten too close to the Beast, as the presidential limousine is known. When the agents relayed to Mr Tates bosses what had happened, they reacted angrily. Tate said he had thought nothing of it because he had taken photos of other dignitaries before including one with Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York. This was unjust and has been a nightmare, Mr Tate, 47, said in an interview last week. Ive tried to rationalize it. It wont go away. But it took several weeks before the full consequences of the incident became clear. An investigation conducted shortly after Mr Obamas visit revealed that Mr Tate was carrying a CDC-issued firearm, a violation of Secret Service protocols and a security lapse that the agencys director at the time, Julia Pierson, never mentioned to the White House. I was upset. Im nervous because Im like, I dont understand whats going on, he said. Mr Tate said the images he had taken on his smartphone were of the limousine and the agents around it similar to ones that news crews often take.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:41:21 +0000
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