Transcripts For CSPAN3 1981 Assassination Attempt On Preside

Them, itnt, we dont will be a permanent part of the Museum Archives, and we couldnt be prouder of the content we had assembled and compiled so far. Tonights event will explore the assassination attempt on president Ronald Reagan 26 years ago. 30, one ago on march week or so ago. Before we begin, i want to acknowledge and thank our partner and very proud sponsor of our witness to history series. They have been a longtime partner of the Memorial Fund and supported us in so many ways. That is target. There distinguished representatives are here tonight. George richards and mahogany eller. Thank you. [applause] i also want to thank our friends here at the washington hilton hotel. Place, a very special obviously, as a relates to tonights event. Truly a unique opportunity to talk about a historic moment at the place that the assassination attempt actually occurred. Of course, i want to thank all of our guests who have turned out here tonight. This is one of our largest audiences we have had for these witness to history events. I want to point out tonights event is being streamed live on facebook. Filmed by the Memorial Fund and our National Law Enforcement museum so it can be a permanent part of our Museum Archives for the benefit of future generations. Tonight, we are pleased to have been with us, they have filmed many of these events of the past, that is the American History television, cspan3. You can find it on your television. It airs on weekends. You can check their website, the cspan website, for specific dates and times. It also airs on the internet. You can find a couple of different ways. It should be airing very soon. Event onlso have this our Memorial Fund website in the future. You go to Law Enforcement museum. Org and see the entire presentation from beginning to end. Who may not beu familiar with the Memorial Fund or National Law Enforcement eight museum, i want to offer a brief introduction into who we do. And what we founded in 1984, we build and now operate the National Law Enforcement officers memorial. That is located in Judiciary Square in the 400 block of east street northwest washington. E street northwest washington. It was dedicated in 1991 and honors the Extraordinary Service and sacrifice of americas policing professionals. It bears the names of nearly 21,000 officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice dating 1791. O the first death in the memorial now includes the names of 29 members of the United States secret service, dating back to the first death in 1902. That was secret Service Operative william crank, struck and killed by a trolley car while protecting president Theodore Roosevelt in massachusetts. Sadly, new names are added each year in our candlelight vigil on may 13. All of you are invited to attend this years event, at 8 p. M. On the national mall, saturday, may 13. This year, we will be dedicating names to the memorial including 143 Law Enforcement Fallen Heroes from 2016. , among the Law Enforcement heroes from the past is names will be added, including secret Service Assistant special agent in charge james collins, who suffered a heart attack while on 1992. N we are also a leader in promoting officer safety and wellness. As our chairman, former u. S. Attorney general John Ashcroft there is nos better way to honor the fallen then to stop the following. Despite our successes, much work is needed in this area. Last year, 65 officers were shot to death. 21 of them in ambush style attacks. For the last two decades, we have been working on a build the effort to first ever congressionally authorized museum to tell the story of american Law Enforcement. The museumn on commenced a year ago and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018. It is located in the 400 block of e street northwest across the street from the national memorial. This Experiential Museum will allow visitors to walk in the shoes of the Law Enforcement officer through hightech interactive exhibitions our missions is to tell the story of american Law Enforcement to strengthen the bond between the officers and the public that they serve and protect. For more information about the National Law Enforcement museum and to follow its progress toward opening, go to our website, located at museuem. Org. Nt for tonights program, we go back to march 30, 1981. President Ronald Reagan was newly inaugurated in speaking at a meeting of the aflcio at the washington hilton. It was a routine day for the President Secret Service special the president ial protective division, who had been at the hilton many times before. On that day, John Hinckley junior attempted to assassinate the president in an effort to draw the apparent attention of Actress Jodie Foster. Due to quick and effective actors actions of many Law Enforcement professionals including our three panelists, the president was rushed to George Washington University Hospital where the doctors were able to save his life and John Hinckley junior was captured and arrested. Tonight, we will get to hear from two former secret Service Agents that were there, one we took a bullet for president reagan, and one former fbi agent who led the subsequent investigation. And now the story of the assassination attempt on president Ronald Reagan, shooting the shotgun nation, an investigation and aftermath that followed, and the changes that occurred in president ial production as a result of this historic event. At this time, i would like to turn the program over to the moderator, tom charlotte. For those of tom sherwood. For those of us from the area, we know tom is a veteran journalist and longtime picture at nbc for television, specializing in politics and government. Hes a resident guest analyst every friday on w amus politics our, and is the coauthor of dream city race, power, and the decline of washington dc. Please join me in welcoming tom. It is all yours. [applause] tom the new title of the second race, power, and the revival of washington dc. [laughter] thank you. I want to thank all the organizers, and the audience for being here. Support we learn from history, whether we agree on it or not. To turn off cell phones, but if your phone rings, you have to stand up, put it on speaker, and then answer it. [laughter] going to talke for a while about the events of march 1, 1981. I heard yours ringing. Guide the questions to get the discussion going. You can see personal reactions. We all know the outlines from history. We are not expecting the monologues for either the people asking the questions or from the panelists. March,et the stage for 1981. On march 6, 1981, walter left for the cbs news and then dan rather took over. The price of a firstclass stamp . 18. P from . 15 to on march 9, 1981, the First Successful heartlung transplant occurred at stanford university. In denver,h 7, 1981 colorado, worried parents confronted their son, and on the advice of a psychiatrist, gave their son a couple hundred dollars, and said, you are on your own. That young man was John Hinckley. Ets welcome the panelists former secret Service Agent tim mccarthy to my immediate right. [applause] agent secret service danny spragues. [applause] former fbi agent tom baker. [applause] there will be no jurisdiction or disputes tonight. [laughter] as he heard come on march 30, president egan reagan came to the washington hilton to address a trades convention luncheon. He was in the big ballroom writedown from here. The last words of his speech, as he was leaving, he asked union guys to work with him so that he could make America Great again. [laughter] a lot of people dont know that. They do now. Prigs anding s the president was speaking can the podium be moved . Sit, but then these people cant see because of this. I will ask the question again because i forgot it. When the president was giving the speech, where were you . I think i was stage left. We were briefed at the white house of the positions and formations, motorcade routes, hospital routes, primary and secondary, safe rooms, things of that nature. The end itinerary is always done over before leaving the white house. We know our assignments before we went through the event arriving down the elevator, because the ballrooms are on the lower level. After that, we referred to as a grip and grin when the president would shake hands with the eyepiece from the trade unions. When wech ended and came back, some of us came up the stairs, and we exited the hilton hotel. Tom did you listen to the speech . No . I know the agents dont really. [laughter] mr. Baker . Where wereprigs, you . Actually on that day, i was not assigned to the protective division, i was assigned to the office. On field the Washington Field Office Supplies all the manpower and resources whenever the president or Vice President has a visit within the city, as well as heads of state. My assignment from the Washington Field office i would assign is the intelligence team. My duty actually was too ahead of time notified when we are notified of the visit, use Due Diligence to identify individuals or groups, or anything that might pose a threat to the president. During the time of the speech, i was in the ballroom, but i was more conscious of where the people were posted to see if there were any problems. Tom and mr. Baker, you were assigned to the Washington Field office for the fbi. What were you initially doing that morning before the luncheon . Dont forget our guest over there. We want to make eye contact with them. Question, i to your can note one thing. It was somewhat unique at that moment, it had an impact throughout the day, the director of the fbi was out of town. He was in williamsburg, virginia for the first of what would become annual meetings with charge. Agents in the special agent and purge of the Washington Field was also with the director out of town. In those states, there were two assistant agents in charge. I was actually in my car just leaving a meeting at fbi headquarters, entering onto the commercial radio broadcasted that the president had just been shot in front of the hilton. I was almost exactly at 2 30. Tom we heard a lot about the moment the president walked onto t street. Rigs and mr. Mccarthy, six shots rang out. Mr. Mccarthy, you were wounded. What were your immediate reactions . Somebody said something about how you immediately took a pose to protect the president. Tell us the initial seconds. What were you doing and thinking . Im going to take one second before we get there to recognize our boss, who passed away recently. [applause] tom he wrote a good book. So the question was i forget. [laughter] tom we will remember that. The immediate reaction. You have training. You are trained to do things without thinking. But you also think about whats going on. The heart pounding moment, what was it like . I did not think. It was a reaction to training. We trained very intensely at the secret service and president ial protective division. The only thing you can do is reaction based upon training. Much like the military going up the hill or Police Officers going down the galley, it is based upon training. I cant say that i could think about it because it happened quickly. It was over in 1. 4 seconds, six shots. It was a reaction based on training. I would like to say i thought about it, but i really didnt. I reacted the way we were trained to react. Im very have i have happy i was able to do it. I dont know if i could do it again. I dont know if i want to find out. Tom we saw during the president ial campaign when President Trump was speaking, someone broke through the, area and suddenly there were four or five agents around him in a heartbeat. There are several techniques in the secret service. Inthey are pounded into you training and several exercises to cover and evacuate the president. In many cases if the threat is in arm reach, you go for the threat. If it is not, and you want a diversion, you can divert an agent out the hallway. There are two think you train for. Aop, attack on a principle or protecting. That is to cover and evacuate a president , or in arms reach, reach for the attacker. Tom no time to think. The moment you heard shots, where were you . Were you walking out . I had just proceeded to detail the agent assigned to the president on to t street. Right. Absolutely there is no way an individual starts thinking in 1. 4 seconds. Muscle memory comes into play. But i will note that even though you cant think in that amount of time and everything is instinctive, you are anticipating what if . Publict we are out on a venue, what if something did happen . The response you saw from tim, jerry, and the other agents, was basically the idea that what if something happens, what am i going to do . That was my reaction. When i heard the shots, i went to my weapon. I recognized shots had gone off. I only had seconds to determine where the shots were coming from. By that time, we saw the smoke from the weapon, we saw individuals moving for the potential assailant. So even though you dont have time to think, you are anticipating what if, and are you going to be able to respond based on training . Tom and mr. Mccarthy, you were shot in the side. Shot in the chest. Walter cronkite had it wrong. I can tell you about that later. Tom you were wounded. Had you been wounded before in the line of duty . I had cuts and bruises, but never anything like that. My father was a chicago policeman, so its not like i didnt know this was a fulltime contact sport. Tom when did you realize you were shot . About the time i hit the ground. [laughter] i couldnt remember why i was there. I saw little blood on my shirt. I heard the gunshots and then it didnt take much to put two and two together. Tom someone told me there was concern you were going to be will run over by the president ial limousine. The number one thing is to get the president out, and you were on the ground. Was that a media misrepresentation . I hope so. [laughter] you went to the hospital, also. Yes. Jim brady and the president and i went to George Washington hospital. Other officers went to washington metro. We were there any different emergency rooms. Tom and you went and an ambulance came to get you . Yes. In the secret service, the training we go to is that you are assigned to protect the president. Detail go withhe the president. They dont stay around to help the wounded as worthy of cause. Hat is to be a humanitarian, it is to be with the president. One doesnt know if this is a diversion, and there could be an attack in another spot. Other agents came and took my radio and weapon and waited until an ambulance arrived to take me to the hospital. Tom mr. Baker, you turned and went to the hotel, driving the speed limit [laughter] you get there, and one of the things so unique about this, is that the public and the media were way too close to where the president was, and mr. Kessler says thehis book, he secret Service Wanted people back, and the white house wanted more of a friendly atmosphere for the president to walk out. When you got there, what did you see . On that particular controversy, i cant comment, because i dont know anything about it. To step back into another controversy, you alluded to jurisdictional things, answering the secret Service Agents, when they wereto training, told about the assassination of president kennedy. In the fbi, we heard a lot about that as well. As we know, everybody in this room, to this day, there are all kinds of conspiracy theories and criticisms of the way things were done when president kennedy was shot. It was sort of drilled into us that we dont want this to happen again. I was sure it was something that was really drilled into the secret service. The minute i heard it, and i had about a four minute ride, because i was already headed that direction, on the radio they said the hilton. I called the radio to ask, which hilton . My patient didnt know which hilton, because it literally had just happened. The media was with the president when it happened. Eventually, i heard it, and both of the hotels were uptown from where i was. I continued to go up. As im driving, im thinking, and im sure the secret Service People thought the same thing, im thinking back to the kennedy thing. We cant get in a fight. We have to work this out. We have to do it right. Since that time, i have talked to everybody involved in this case. Everybody has the same feeling. We have to do this right. I was formulating thoughts in my head as i went up there, and also on the bureau radio back to our base, they were in touch with headquarters. Went until this as i i got here. Sprigs, John Hinckley fired off six shots in one and a half seconds. You went towards him . Correct. Tom why wasnt he shot . I think i was