A Federal Officer Was NOT Shot in Oakland Friday

You have all seen the headline "Federal Officer Killed in Oakland".  This is not true.  Two private security contractors, hired to protect the federal Homeland Security building in Oakland were shot.  One died.  This is terrible.  But contractors are used to save money.  They were probably paid half of what a federal officer makes with little or no benefits.  Had the Federal Protection Service had their own officers there, perhaps their training would have led to a different outcome.  Here is what the FBI reported:

In a statement to KPIX 5, the FBI said the incident occurred at around 9:45 p.m.

“A vehicle approached the building,” the statement read. “An individual inside the vehicle began firing shots at contracted security officers for the Federal Protection Service of the Department of Homeland Security. One officer was killed and another injured.”

And this from a congressional hearing ten years ago:

 These 1,200 FPS employees are supplemented by 15,000 
security guards who are paid by private firms under contract 
with the Government. Every year, the costs of these contracts 
increase by 20 percent. For most people, the contract guards 
are the face of the Federal Protective Service. Unfortunately, 
the face has some disturbing features.
    In 3 years, this committee's oversight has uncovered FPS' 
failure to pay its contractors; security firms hired by FPS who 
fail to pay their guards; FPS' failure to require current and 
appropriate credentials for guards; FPS' and the security 
companies' failure to properly train guards; and FPS' inability 
to mandate that Federal tenants comply with security upgrades. 
These problems have led to security vulnerabilities that 
allowed GAO testers to enter Federal buildings guarded by 
contract guards with knives and guns.