Contributing Reporting By Sam Stein
An executive official at the union representing security officers at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum said that he expected the federal government to purchase security vests for personnel working at the site, following the shooting of an officer on Wednesday.
Kerry C. Lacey, International Vice President of Region 6 of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA), told the Huffington Post that he was set to have a call with the private security firm in charge of museum operations on Friday to discuss, among other things, measures to improve the safety of on-site officers.
One area of focus is likely to be security vests. Union officials had requested that Wackenhut Services, Inc (WSI), the company that employs the Holocaust Museum security guards, supply the officials with the protective gear. The request was denied.
Going forward, Lacey said that he expected the federal government to intervene, "There could be a chance that [the government] buys these vests and requires that they are worn," he said. "They'd make a request to WSI. If the client... buys them, they will be required to wear them. In the close future I think [the government] will probably require them."
When this will take place and which government entity would make the purchase is not entirely clear. The Department of Homeland Security does not have authority over security operations at the museum, a DHS official confirmed. An email to Wackenhut requesting clarification on this matter was not immediately returned. Asked if the firm would require security guards to wear protective vests following Wednesday's shooting, Susan Pitcher, an official with Wackenhut, did not offer an affirmative answer.
"All of our security guards at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum were in their prescribed uniforms, arms and equipment as per the contract specifications," she said, declining to comment further.
The shooting of the Holocaust Museum security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns by James Van Bunn has sparked an angry response from labor officials who note that, during contract negotiations two years ago, SPFPA had pressed Wackenhut to issue bulletproof vests for personnel. Had that request been met, they say, the killing at the facilities on Wednesday could have been avoided. As for future requirements, Lacey said, "This is all subject to negotiations," including issues of liability should security officers be provided with the vests and refuse or simply not choose to wear them.
In addition to pressing for the protective gear, SPFPA will be launching a fundraising drive on Friday on behalf of the victim's family, with the international union matching donations made by its local affiliates.