Secret Service Officer Arrested in Miami

Secret Service Officer Arrested in Miami

By JACK CLOHERTY (@jjclo)
Oct. 12, 2012

A U.S. Secret Service officer was arrested early Friday morning after police found him passed out on a Miami, Fla., sidewalk.

The officer, Aaron Francis Engler, was in Miami as part of the advance team for President Barack Obama's visit to the University of Miami on Thursday.

Engler is a member of the uniformed division of the agency and not assigned to presidential protection, a spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington told ABC News.

The Miami police report noted that Engler became combative when an officer tried to rouse him.

"[Engler] started arguing with me and throwing his arms around while I was conducting a pat down," wrote the arresting officer. "At this point motorists traveling in the area were stopping to watch his actions."

President Barack Obama waves to the cheering crowd as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at the University of Miami, Oct. 11, 2012, in Coral Gables, Fla. U.S. Secret Service officer Aaron Francis Engler was arrested early Friday morning after police found him allegedly passed out on a sidewalk in Miami after the president's visit.

After handcuffing Engler, officers went through his personal items and discovered he was with the Secret Service. Engler was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence, police said.

Engler's arrest was another in a string of embarrassments for the agency charged with protecting the president.

This spring, nine Secret Service personnel were removed from the agency after they were accused of hiring prostitutes while on a presidential trip to Cartagena, Columbia.

The scandal roiled the once-pristine reputation of the agency and sparked new rules for officers and agents who are travelling on official business. One new rule specifically banned heavy drinking on trips -- but, apparently, Officer Engler did not get the message.

The case will be referred to the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility for investigation, a Secret Service spokesman said.

Secret Service Officer Arrested on Presidential Advance Trip - ABC News