One minute you’re making $42,000 a year and the next you’re fighting to get your job back.
That’s the current story of former CDC employee, Kenneth Tate. His life changed drastically after an elevator ride with President Obama where he provided private security detail at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
President Obama paid a visit to the agency’s headquarters for an Ebola briefing and Tate’s supervisors assigned him to escort the president for a portion of the travel and operate the service elevator. He was provided with a .40-caliber handgun, two magazines of ammunition and a radio.
Honored about the opportunity, Tate explained that just before 2:30 p.m. the presidential motorcade arrived. The conversation between he and the president was a brief exchange of names and pleasure to meet you’s.
What happens next is what has Tate outraged and ready to sue his former employer.
As the president’s motorcade prepared to leave, Tate claims he attempted to take a picture of the president with his cell phone. Secret Service agents reportedly interjected and told him that he had gotten too close.
Within days, he no longer had a job.
Tate stated that at the time he tried to snap a picture, the detail had been completed, so he is confused about what caused an issue.
Granted, Tate claims the demands of the job were done, but let’s look at the importance of being alert and ready at any time. There is a high-risk possibility whenever the president is around.
Did Tate, step out of bounds and conduct himself unprofessionally? Should he have asked in advance about the possibility of a picture of the president at an appropriate time prior to the start of the detail responsibility?
Listen to Tate’s version of the story here and then take our poll:
