Protective Operations

159

10

Levels of Protection and the

Cessation of Protection

In a free and open society, we simply cannot protect every person

against every risk at every moment in every place. There is no

perfect security … in order to protect our country and defend our

freedoms; we must continue to focus our resources on the areas

that pose the greatest risk.

Michael Chertoff (February 14, 2006)

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

On Monday, July 19, 2010, at around 5:20 a.m. in Athens, Greece, there

was a knock on the door at the home of Sokratis Giolias, a well-known

local journalist. Despite the early hour, Giolias opened the door after

three men in uniform informed him that his car had been stolen. As the

door opened, the three men armed with 9 mm pistols opened re with a

volley of 16 rounds, 13 of which found their mark. As Giolias fell to the

ground, the three assassins ed the scene in a nearby car. The car, which

was found to have been stolen prior to the attack, was recovered later in

the day, burned out.

1

Giolias was the rst journalist to be assassinated in Greece in over

20 years. The bullet casings matched those used in the killing of a police

ofcer, as well as one found on the grave stone of a 15-year-old boy who

was killed in 2008 by police. The attack was claimed by a group calling

themselves the Revolutionary Sect, although there are many who ques-

PROTECTIVE OPERATIONS

160

tion that admission. It was later reported that Giolias had refused to hire

any protection, even though he admitted to having made many enemies.

With every threat/risk assessment, ultimately a decision has to be

made as to the level of protection that is to be provided, if any. Without

known or potential threats identied, the minimum level of protection is

to educate individuals in providing for their own security (in the author’s

opinion, this should be the minimum that is provided to any threatened

person even if deemed to be false). It is here where the divergence of the

commonalities between federal protective agencies and local law enforce-

ment are perhaps the greatest. With leaders of countries and high-rank-

ing government ofcials, protection is a 24/7, 365 days a year operation. It

therefore is known, planned, funded, and staffed. These large operations

can also be provided by some state and larger local agencies providing

details for governors and/or mayors; however, this is not often the case.

Interestingly, it has been reported that as late as 1967, the then-governor

of California, Ronald Reagan, did not have a full-time protective detail.

Even today, many lawmakers do not have physical protection provided

on a daily basis.

The decision on what level of protection to provide is wrought with

unknowns. A decision should, of course, rely on the role of the principal,

the nature of the case, the duration of the operation (i.e., trial, etc.), the

adversary, and manpower and economic constraints. Couple this with the

known or perceived threat, it is a decision that is not and should not be

quickly made. It also is imperative to understand that this decision alone

has the most potential for second-guessing and civil liability than perhaps

all others, except the use of deadly force. Ultimately, when the perceived

threat is gone, or perhaps worse, cannot be conrmed, what then?

Case in Point: On Wednesday, June 30, 2010, at approximately 9:30 p.m. in Ciudad Juarez, in

the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Sandra Ivonne Salas Garcia, an assistant attorney general,

was assassinated by members of the armed wing of the Juarez drug cartel, known as La

Linea. The attack occurred as she was in transit between her ofce and her residence.

Unknown to her, cartel gunmen were positioned in four vehicles, two parked in the parking

lot of the nearby supermarket, a third was parked across the street near a park, and the

fourth was in a parking lot of a restaurant.

In the attack on Salas, she was in the company of a two-member pro-

tective detail. At some point, either her or one of her two protective mem-

bers became aware of the vehicles and increased the speed. As her vehicle