Former FBI agent discusses security for high-profile political visits to Indy

INDIANAPOLIS — Security for major events across the country has recently been called into question. At the same time, multiple law enforcement agencies are planning to collaborate to ensure a safe trip to Indianapolis by Vice President Kamala Harris next week.

The vice president is scheduled to speak during an event hosted by the Zeta Phi Beta sorority next Wednesday at the Convention Center. Indiana is the 24th state she’s visited this year, but this trip comes on the heels of a security failure that could’ve cost former president Donald Trump his life.

“There’s going to be a lot of effort put into this and everybody’s on edge, especially with the political climate right now and the incident with Trump that just happened,” Security expert and former FBI agent Doug Kouns said. “I think everything is going to be amped up another whole level.”

Kouns said it’s hard to predict how any protocols might change, especially pending the results of the investigation into Saturday’s shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania.

“We always learn from our mistakes, right? So they’ll do an after-action report analysis, figure out where the breakdown was and initiate a process to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” Kouns explained.

Kouns said local law enforcement agencies will likely review and improve upon successful plans from previous large-scale events. When asked what attendees can expect next week, a spokesperson for the Indiana Convention Center said that would fall under the purview of the Secret Service. And despite any public scrutiny the Secret Service is now facing, Kouns is confident in the agency.

“I still think they’re the best there is as far as physical security and executive protection goes and I think we all should,” Kouns added.

His advice if you’re planning to attend any event with a high-profile figure is to be mindful of your surroundings, know where the exits are and speak up if you see something unusual.

“Nothing had happened for 40-some-odd years. So, maybe we just don’t, in the back of our minds, think that something like this can happen in this day and age when we have so many security measures already in place and yet it does,” Kouns said. “So it just reminds us all to be hyper-vigilant.”

IMPD officials said they are currently working on the plan for next week with federal partners, so no details can be shared yet about what it will entail.