The Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery didn't exist in 2014, when the incident the Secret Service dog took part in happened, but they're recognizing it today.
Yesterday evening, former #SecretService Uniformed Division K-9 Officer “Hurricane” was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal during the 2nd Annual Animals in War and Peace ceremony. Read more: https://t.co/vkrsM0r59B (1/) 🧵 pic.twitter.com/2S7ZuDGMRv
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 10, 2022
“Hurricane” also sustained serious injuries, but ultimately forced the man to the ground, allowing his UD colleagues to make the arrest, earning him Very Good Boy status. (3/) pic.twitter.com/M4zVhd01Pa
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 10, 2022
Here's the text of the official Secret Service press release:
Former Uniformed Division K-9 Officer “Hurricane” Awarded Distinguished Service Medal
Washington, D.C. – Yesterday evening, former U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division K-9 Officer “Hurricane” was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal during the Second Annual Animals in War and Peace ceremony.
K-9 “Hurricane,” a Belgian Malinois, joined the Secret Service’s Emergency Response Team Tactical Canine Unit in November 2012. In October 2014, “Hurricane” neutralized an intruder who had scaled the White House fence. An initial K-9 responder, “Jardan,” first encountered the intruder, who violently fought “Jardan” off and badly injured the dog. “Hurricane” also sustained serious injuries, but ultimately forced the man to the ground, allowing his Uniformed Division colleagues to make the arrest.
“On every shift of every day, we at the Secret Service strive to uphold five core values; Duty, Honor, Loyalty, Justice, and Courage,” said Uniformed Division Assistant Chief Michael Buck during the ceremony. “They are the five points of our agency’s star, and on a dark night in October 2014, they were embodied by a very good boy named Hurricane.”
“Hurricane” is one of six dogs recognized during the event, hosted by Angels Without Wings, Inc./Animals in War and Peace, the Livingood Group LLC, and the U.S. War Dogs Association. These organizations developed the annual Animals in War and Peace ceremony to underscore America’s appreciation of the sacrifices and heroism of animals who served the United States.[More]
It happens that the man the dogs were attacking was an unarmed black man with mental issues named Dominic Adesanya. (This is a Nigerian name, although I believe he was born in the US.) This picture of Mr. Adesanya, via the UK Mirror, explains why, though unarmed, he was able to seriously injure two K-9s.
That happened in October 2014, and in July 2015, Mr. Adesanya was sentenced to "time served."
Man Who Climbed White House Fence Sentenced to Time Served
Dominic Adesanya, whose father said has mental health problems, got onto the restricted North Lawn before he was tackled by security officers Oct. 22.
By Phil Helsel, July 2, 2015
Apparently he wanted to talk to Obama for the following crazy reason:
Adesanya told officers he was at the White House because he was “targeted due to his race by the Rothchild [sic] family who owned the Federal Reserve Bank,” according to court records. He also told officers he wanted the cameras that were placed in his house removed.
There were not, in fact, any cameras in his house. His father told press that his son had torn up the drywall in the house looking for them.
I'm OK with declaring Hurricane a "Very Good Dog" and I'm OK with a crazy unarmed man being released less than nine months after hopping the White House fence.
But compare this with the treatment of the January 6 Mostly Peaceful Protesters, or of every other police dog who was forced to bite a black man in the course of his duties, and you'll get an idea what I'm extremely tired of.
