Driving home on Highway 169 yesterday evening, I saw a convoy of 10+ cop cars, lights ablaze, followed by black SUVs also with flashing lights. A couple more cop cars, then an ambulance as the last vehicle.
I went home and looked up the local Star Tribune website and saw that Sen. Edwards had a campaign event in a high school in Maple Grove, MN. I assume I saw the parade taking him back to the airport.
It looked similar to a convoy I saw in St. Louis carying Laura Bush , although hers had no ambulance. Any idea why an ambulance would be along for the ride? If anything happened to Edwards (or someone else), I assume the reaction would be for the convoy to boogie to a hospital ASAP and not waste time by stopping and transfering the person to the ambulance.
WAG is that an ambulance is useful for more than transport. It houses emergency medical equipment and supplies. If Edwards or someone else were to suffer, say, heart failure, using the ambulance’s defibrilator (sp?) is going to be a lot faster than transporting him to the nearest hospital.
But seriously – the campaign of someone who has made his bones suing for damages, would indeed be extra conscious to have around the resources so if anyone gets hurt, they can get as much help as possible right on the spot.
WAG: ambulances are usually stationed at events with a large turnout of people (sports games, e.g.) for precautionary purposes. I’d imagine that a political rally would be such an event. With a large crowd that draws out all types of people (esp. the elderly, those not in best of health), you’re bound to have a few fainters or an occasional heart attack. And at political rallies, perhaps a few punches will get thrown.
I’m guessing the ambulace was on the way to or from such a rally.
For that I think the ambulance would already be at the event and not part of the convoy. In Milwaukee we’ve had Bush in town something like 15 times since he’s been in office, Kerry, Edwards et al have all been here a few times as well. Only in the past year or so have I noticed the ambulance as part of the convoy. I wonder if it’s (at least partially) an honorary thing. Also, the last few times the bomb squad was parked about a mile from where they exit the airport. The truck shows up in the morning (several hours before ANYTHING happens, before they starting putting the blocades on the side of the road even, for me it’s the first sign that the pres is coming to town that day) and just sits in that spot ALL day.
The other thing I also thought was odd, was that one of the times (or maybe two), when I’ve watched the convoy there’s been something odd. Air Force One lands, a few mins later the cops block off the side streets and parking lots that exit onto the road the convoy will be using and get the traffic off of it. The convoy shows up, LOTS of police cars, motorcycles, Tahoes and more and more as the convoy continues (as soon as the pass a street that a particular cop is blocking he joins the convoy) then you see all the SS Tahoes, Limos more Tahoes, Suburbans, Limos, more cops, one ambulance, and amongst all this, Bush was sitting in one of the Limos behind an untinted window. For all the overtime that will be paid out to all these cops, it certainly woulnd’t be at all hard to take a shot at the pres if you wanted to.
I’ve only seen one convoy (for Clinton) although my family was at one for Bush very recently. My impression is that the cops stop in front of everyone who is present along the way. For example, on Coronado Island, San Diego, motorcycle cops stopped at any car (there was parallel parking on the street) that had someone in it. My wife and kids were standing on the road Bush’s convoy used and a motorcycle cop stopped right in front of them (somewhat blocking their view even) until the motorcade passed.
Has this been your experience? If so, do you think you would be able to get a gun out and aim it easily without getting shot yourself? Just because the window of his car was not tinted it may still have been bullet-resistant.
I know anything’s possible, and we’ve had Presidents shot before, but if you can think something up, I’d bet the Secret Service can also.
