While we've heard very little from federal authorities since the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, there has been a fair amount of finger-pointing, particularly regarding which law enforcement agency held the primary responsibility for securing the building on which the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, perched to take his shot. 

One narrative that emerged fairly quickly was the assertion by the Secret Service that while they had secured a perimeter around the immediate event venue, local police were responsible for areas outside that perimeter, including the building in question. 

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On Tuesday, Butler Township Commissioner Ed Natali shared a post on his Facebook page pushing back on some of the reporting indicating that "local police" were responsible for the area around the American Glass Research property from which Crooks shot at the former president.

In his post, Natali adamantly insisted that the Butler Township Police Department had no role in the security detail. Rather, they were assigned to traffic detail. Per Natali, they had no responsibility for securing the AGR property or any other location, and "Anyone who says so, reports on it, implies it, etc... is uninformed, lying, or covering their own backsides."

I want to say as clearly as can be said, the Butler Township Police Department (“BTPD”) had no security detail for this event. There were seven officers all assigned to traffic detail. Period!! The BTPD was NOT responsible for securing AGR or any other location. Anyone who says so, reports on it, implies it, etc... is uninformed, lying, or covering their own backsides. I trust I am being loud and clear. To read this article and stating an unnamed USSS agent pointing the finger at “Local Police” is a very transparent deflection. I am disappointed this article was even published by Butler Radio Network.

As Sheriff Slupe stated, the BTPD officers in the general vicinity left their traffic detail to respond to the report of a suspicious person. With reports of the suspect on the roof, a first officer being assisted by a second officer was pulling himself up to see on the roof. The suspect turned his firearm on the first officer, who as Sheriff Slupe stated, was not in position to wield his weapon to defend himself. He fell to safety and was injured in the process. The fact of the matter is the encounter with the officer most likely forced the shooter to hurry his shots. 

It is completely disgusting to see finger pointing has become the priority, when we had four people shot, with one of the four fatally wounded. I am sure it is comfort to all family members, including President Trump’s family, that it is more important to affix the blame, rather than the problem. 

The men and women who serve in the BTPD are dedicated to their jobs, the wellbeing of their fellow citizens, and they love their community. 

Edward R. Natali, Butler Township commissioner.

Natali joined Marth MacCallum on Fox News' "The Story" Wednesday afternoon and confirmed that local officers, once they received information about a suspicious person in the area, attempted to assist in locating the person. Natali told MacCallum that there was no ladder in the immediate area, thus there were two officers attempting to access the roof with one lifting the other up. As Natali explained it, the officer who was boosted up was using both hands to grab onto the roof and pull himself up, and thus, was not in a position to wield his weapon. When the shooter turned and pointed his gun at the officer, the officer fell back, injuring himself in the process. Per Natali, had the officer been in a position to engage the shooter, he would have done so. 

What! pic.twitter.com/Vl7qD0KAwQ

— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) July 17, 2024

It is not entirely clear what other local law enforcement agencies were present and may have had some involvement on Saturday. We do know that there were motorcycle officers from Pittsburgh on site, which has evolved into its own controversy.

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What is clear is that the questions surrounding what went wrong on Saturday have only increased in the days since. Answers need to be forthcoming.