Consider this scenario. Cheney and Bush go game hunting. Now there are Secret Service agents which have a duty to protect Bush and there are Secret Service agents which have a duty to protect Cheney. If Cheney aims the shotgun at Bush, what happens. If Bush aims the shotgun at Cheney, what happens?
What would a Secret Service agent do if the President and the Vice President happened to be aiming their shotgun at one another at the same time? And what would happen if they fired; what would the Secret Service agent do?
Murder is a crime no matter who does it. I am sure the SS would try to stop any obvious attempt at blowing someone away, especially their charges. I don’t think they would shoot either one until one of them pulls the trigger. SS recruits from other law enforcement agencies. Those guys are “cops” by training. Even if it is the POTUS blowing people away in the middle of a crowd, instinct is to dissarm or disable. And they got automatics.
They both have their own guards, so if the VP and the Pres. were both in jeopardy, their protection teams would swing into action to protect the person to which they are assigned.
It’s highly unlikely they would shoot either one of them, since officers of the law are not trained to shoot-to-disable but are trained to shoot-to-kill. They would most likely tackle both parties.
Help me out here. Can the President even go hunting with a group? I would think the Secret Service would prevent anyone getting near the President with a firearm. As I understand it, they are pretty strict about this protocol. Maybe the President could be armed and shooting quail but anyone with him would have to be disarmed to satisfy the paranoia for the Secret Service.
Am I wrong? Has any President in the last 40 years gone hunting with his friends?
I question the notion that the VP’s detail would side with him over the POTUS. I would bet that there is a hierarchy of protection despite your assignment.