Local law enforcement reflect on Trump’s 2018 Tri-Cities visit after assassination attempt

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — In Oct. 2018, then-President Donald Trump stopped at Freedom Hall in Johnson City as part of a mid-term campaign rally.

The assassination attempt at a rally of his in Pennsylvania on Saturday has some law enforcement agencies reflecting on their protocol when the former president came to our region.

News Channel 11 spoke to officers from both the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) and the Kingsport Police Department (KPD), and although they couldn’t discuss specific details of duties on that assignment, they each spoke to their general assignments given to them from the United States Secret Service’s (USSS) direction.

The SCSO had about 35 officers from the SWAT team and Dignitary Protection Unit assigned to Trump’s visit.

Captain Bobby Dooley heads the unit. He says they train to provide specialized protection, not just to presidents, but any important dignitary that comes to the area. It was started by Sheriff Jeff Cassidy when he was just a patrol captain at the department.

“It can be pretty nervous,” Dooley said about a big event like a president’s visit. “But we train and we practice different scenarios. We train as a group about every two months, we put ourselves through role-playing.”

He says the day of the Trump visit, his unit had responsibilities both inside and outside the perimeter at the Tri-Cities Airport.

“Most of our personnel were responsible and assigned by the Secret Service to the property of the airport, and several us rode in the caravan to Johnson City,” he reflected.

Once the caravan was on the road, that’s where more than a dozen Kingsport Police worked on traffic control along the president’s route.

Kingsport Captain Justin Quillin was working that day, and he said there’s one threat that’s always on an officer’s radar, and that’s someone with a gun.

“I think they main thing we’re looking for is that gunman; we don’t want anyone out in the open with a gun,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest concern. If we see an immediate threat, any police officer has a duty to take action.”

Both Quillin and Dooley say they think the Secret Service’s plan for protection and the communication between agencies were flawless for the Johnson City Trump rally.

But, they also both remember it as a day of high emotion and stress.

“It’s very exciting because, you know, the president is town right? But there’s also the responsibility of making sure the event goes as safely as possible and everyone gets to go home,” Quillin reflected.

Quillin says he was relieved when Air Force One left, knowing that all went well. He added that he was saddened to hear that wasn’t the case in Pennsylvania.

“You hate to see that happen anywhere. I hate it for all those people involved.”

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