HARRISBURG — When Cody Balmer allegedly broke into the governor’s stately residence on the banks of the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania State Police troopers working the overnight shift were the first to respond.
These troopers are assigned to an elite, specially trained detail known as the Executive Services Office, which has protected Pennsylvania’s governors, lieutenant governors, and their families for decades.
When the governor travels, troopers in the detail travel with him. When he is in the Capitol, they are stationed at a desk outside his office. When he is at the official residence in Harrisburg, they are in an office monitoring surveillance cameras, tasked with keeping the first family safe. They also surveil the governor’s private home.
Balmer, a 38-year-old mechanic whose mother says he is in the throes of a mental health crisis, was able to evade them, officials say.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Balmer scaled a perimeter fence outside the residence, broke a window with a hammer, and threw in a Molotov cocktail. He then broke and climbed through a different window, threw two more Molotov cocktails, left the building, and escaped back over the fence.
Lt. Col. George Bivens oversees the governor’s detail as part of his role as State Police deputy commissioner of operations. At a news conference on Sunday, Bivens said troopers at the residence were “actively searching” for the intruder when he broke into the residence. Bivens said the entire attack “was all playing out over a period of several minutes. It was a very quick event.”
Balmer left significant damage in his wake, police say, and was taken into custody after turning himself in.
A primary mission of Shapiro’s detail, according to two sources familiar with its work who spoke on condition of anonymity, was to swiftly and safely move the governor to a secure location and keep him out of harm’s way. They did so — Shapiro said he awoke around 2 a.m. to State Police banging on a door, and that everyone in the building was evacuated.
At the news conference, Shapiro thanked the law enforcement agency and said he has total confidence in it “to keep us safe.” A State Police official said the agency will conduct a security review to ensure that there is never a repeat of Sunday’s events.
Here’s what Spotlight PA knows about the detail that protects the governor, and what comes next after this security breach.
What is the Executive Services Office?
Created in 1942, according to a State Police history, the office coordinates security for the governor, lieutenant governor, their families, official residences, and the governor’s office.
According to an official description of the detail in a legislative committee report, the troopers in the Executive Services Office also provide transportation for the governor and lieutenant governor, as well as security and transportation for any visiting dignitaries. They also serve as liaisons to other law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service.
They accompany the governor when he is on official business, and also when he attends political events outside his official capacity.
The troopers assigned to protect the governor are specially trained, according to the two people familiar with the detail’s work.
A State Police spokesperson told Spotlight PA that like other specialized units, members of the detail “must complete a written test, an oral interview, and provide a demonstration of skill and ability,” for example, through a firearms test and a physical fitness test.
Also like other state troopers, those who protect the governor are represented by the State Troopers Association, though the process for placing them on the detail is not covered by the union’s collective bargaining agreement.
How many officers are assigned to the security detail?
A spokesperson for State Police declined to say how many troopers work on the governor’s detail. As of 2019, there were two dozen, according to a Legislative Budget and Finance Committee report.
State Police troopers accompany the governor when he travels by both car and plane, according to flight logs and sources with knowledge of the security detail. Troopers also do advance security work at the location to which the governor is traveling.
How many officers were at the residence during the attack?
A spokesperson for State Police declined to say how many troopers are typically assigned to the governor’s residence, how many were there on the night of the attack, and whether there were fewer than usual.
The governor’s security detail has an office inside the official residence in Harrisburg, which the two sources with knowledge of the detail confirmed is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Will anything change going forward?
Though the State Police spokesperson offered few specifics about the executive detail’s normal operations, he did say adjustments could be coming.
“There is an ongoing security review of all aspects of the current security system and procedures to determine what improvements may be available for implementation,” the spokesperson told Spotlight PA in a statement.
Of the ongoing review, Bivens told reporters on Sunday, “We look at all aspects — personnel, technical surveillance equipment, security equipment, all of that will be reviewed. And we will do our best to ensure that the governor and his family are safe in this residence.”
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that members of the State Police Executive Services Office detail that protects the governor are in a union, the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association. However, the process for assigning an officer to the detail is not covered under the union’s collective bargaining agreement.
