White House Police Force

Last updated August 14, 2019

The White House Police Force was a security police force formed in 1922 to protect the White House and the President of the United States. It became part of the United States Secret Service in 1930. It was renamed the Executive Protective Service in 1970 and then the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service in 1977.

In some countries, security police are those persons employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations with large campuses who provide police and security services to those agencies' properties.

The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. The term "White House" is often used as a metonym for the president and his advisers.

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

History

The White House Police Force was created on October 1, 1922, at the request of President Warren G. Harding to provide police and security services to the White House and Executive Office Building.^[1] Initially the President or his appointed representative supervised the force.^[2]

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th president of the United States from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular U.S. presidents to that point. After his death a number of scandals, such as Teapot Dome, came to light, as did his extramarital affair with Nan Britton; each eroded his popular regard. He is often rated as one of the worst presidents in historical rankings.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB)—formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB) and even earlier as the State, War, and Navy Building—is a U.S. government building situated just west of the White House in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. Maintained by the General Services Administration, it is occupied by the Executive Office of the President, including the Office of the Vice President of the United States.

The White House Police Force was placed under the command of the Chief of the United States Secret Service in 1930. In 1970, it became the Executive Protective Service and its roles and size were expanded. Its responsibilities now included the protection of the White House, foreign missions in and around Washington, D.C., and the Naval Observatory. Together they provide protection for the following: The President and Vice President of the United States and their immediate families, presidential candidates, the White House Complex, the Vice President's Residence, and foreign diplomatic missions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.^[3]

The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting the nation's leaders and their families. Until 2003, the Secret Service was part of the Department of the Treasury, as the agency was originally founded to combat the then-widespread counterfeiting of US currency.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States and a Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city, located on the Potomac River bordering Maryland and Virginia, is one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.

The vice president of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over Senate deliberations, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president also presides over joint sessions of Congress.

The Executive Protective Service became the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service in 1977. When the United States Treasury Police was merged into the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service in 1986^[1] it became responsible for the main Treasury building and the Treasury Annex building, both of which are adjacent to the White House.

The United States Treasury Police was the federal security police of the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for providing police and security to the Treasury Building and the Treasury Annex.

Fallen officer

Since the establishment of the White House Police, one officer has died in the line of duty.^[4]

Officer	Date of Death	Details
Officer Leslie William Coffelt	Wednesday, November 1, 1950	Shot in the Truman assassination attempt

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References

1 2 "Secret Service history". United States Secret Service. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
↑ 42 Stat. 841
↑ Frederick Kaiser, "Origins of Secret Service Protection of the President: Personal, Interagency, and Institutional Conflict", Presidential Studies Quarterly, 1988, vol. XVIII, num. 1, p. 102. These
↑ The Officer Down Memorial Page

Bibliography

Donald A. Torres (1985). Handbook of Federal Police and Investigative Agencies. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-24578-9 and ISBN 978-0-313-24578-7

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[SS_history-1] 1 2 "Secret Service history". United States Secret Service. Retrieved 28 May 2011.

[2] 42 Stat. 841

[3] Frederick Kaiser, "Origins of Secret Service Protection of the President: Personal, Interagency, and Institutional Conflict", Presidential Studies Quarterly, 1988, vol. XVIII, num. 1, p. 102. These

[4] The Officer Down Memorial Page