HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania State Police officials should at least make public how a brazen arson attack on the governor’s residence occurred, and whether there were failures in security, the top Republican in the state House of Representatives said Wednesday.
“It’s probably the No. 1 question I got when I went home that week from my constituents: How did this happen?” state House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R., Bedford) told reporters in the Capitol.
“I do think what happened and why it happened — the failures of the system — we do need some accountability for that,” Topper continued. “And transparency is the best way to provide that.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family are protected by a specialized State Police unit that accompanies them to private and public events, and provides security at their residences. The agency has hired a former commissioner to conduct a third-party security review, but neither State Police nor Shapiro’s office have promised to make any of the findings public.
In the hours before the April 13 attack, Shapiro, his family, and several friends celebrated the first night of Passover at the stately residence along the banks of the Susquehanna River. They were asleep when 38-year-old Cody Balmer of Harrisburg allegedly jumped the perimeter fence, crept up to the home, smashed windows, and briefly entered the residence. Police say Balmer deployed Molotov cocktails and started fires inside several rooms.
The Democrat’s security detail has an office inside the official residence, which sources say is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Two troopers were on duty when Balmer allegedly broke in, according to three sources who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
State Police brass have been tight-lipped about the actions of those troopers, including how quickly they became aware of the intruder and whether they were aware that Balmer had briefly entered the residence.
Other law enforcement sources told Spotlight PA that the detail’s top priority when encountering any type of security threat or breach is to remove the governor and his family from danger as quickly as possible. On the night of the attack, Shapiro and his family were safely evacuated, and the governor has said he has full confidence in State Police.
According to court records, Balmer told law enforcement he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer had he encountered the governor.
After scaling the fence and lying in wait for an unspecified amount of time, Balmer tripped a security sensor, Shapiro told ABC News. That prompted one of the troopers to go outside to investigate.
“It was dark, and the trooper wasn’t able to spot him,” Shapiro said.
Balmer then proceeded down a brick walking path, past a rose garden, and broke a window, Shapiro said.
In the days after the attack, top State Police officials tapped one of the agency’s former commissioners, Jeffrey Miller, to lead a third-party review. Miller will be paid $23,489 and assisted by another retired State Police officer, Jon Kurtz, according to a copy of his contract.
In announcing Miller’s hiring, State Police officials said the review will include “a risk and vulnerability assessment” of the residence and its surrounding grounds. It will also examine “monitoring systems, duty assignments of the security detail, and response protocols.”
According to a copy of the contract with State Police, Miller said: “We will offer recommendations for consideration to mitigate any gaps discovered and apply industry best practices in our analysis to assist in preventing a future breach in perimeter security of the type that occurred in this case.”
He added: “My team and I will interface with State Police personnel to better understand the scope of duty assignments and response protocols in place at the time of the attack, as well as the security monitoring systems being utilized on April 13.”
It is not clear whether the inquiry will assess the exact sequence of events and actions taken by the two troopers stationed at the residence that night.
In several emails to Spotlight PA, State Police staffers sidestepped questions about whether Miller’s review will cover that aspect.
“The independent review will evaluate security protocols at the residence and property, its monitoring systems, trooper assignments, and response protocols to determine security gaps and recommend improvements,” spokesperson Myles Snyder told Spotlight PA.
Pressed to explain, another spokesperson wrote: “PSP is working to provide the independent firm with all the information relating to that night’s events – including the events before, during, and after the arson attack – so they can do a comprehensive security review, as was outlined in the press release and the contract. Since this is an independent review, Mr. Miller will determine what information is included in the final report.”
Security experts said assessing the on-the-ground response is essential.
“Any kind of review and analysis of what happened has to be taken using a holistic approach — and that has to include every piece of this … including how troopers responded,” said J.J. Klaver, a retired FBI supervisory special agent who founded a private security consulting firm.
“The danger” of not doing so, Klaver told Spotlight PA, “is you are potentially missing something that needs to be corrected or needs to be improved.”
Balmer is charged with attempted homicide, terrorism, and other crimes. In the hours before the attack, Balmer removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into Heineken bottles he found at his home, according to police records. He then walked an hour to the governor’s residence, where he allegedly scaled the perimeter fence, used a hammer to break a window, and threw the first of his homemade Molotov cocktails inside.
As flames engulfed a portion of the residence, Balmer broke another window, entered the mansion, and threw two more Molotov cocktails, starting two more fires, police say. He then kicked a door open and fled, again scaling the perimeter fence and running away.
He later turned himself in at State Police headquarters. PennLive reported that shortly after the attack, Balmer also called a county dispatch center to take responsibility for the attack.
Balmer’s mother told several news outlets that he has a mental illness and had stopped taking his medication. His brother told the Associated Press that Balmer had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and twice been treated at a psychiatric hospital.
Following past attacks or serious security breaches involving high-profile elected officials, state and federal agencies have publicized information about their reviews of events.
There were multiple investigations into the actions and performance of the Secret Service after last year’s assassination attempt of President Donald Trump in Butler. A summary of an internal report was made available publicly, and revealed problems including poor communications between the Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies.
In 2008, following an arson attack that ravaged the governor’s mansion in Texas, the department in charge of security released a report that detailed security failures both leading up to and on the day of the fire.
Topper and other state House Republican leaders have asked Shapiro’s office to provide legislative leaders and oversight committees with an unredacted copy of Miller’s final report.
Topper acknowledged Wednesday that certain aspects of that report would have to remain confidential for security reasons, but added, “What happened and how it happened, I think, is a question that needs to be answered.
“One of the reasons why we ask for accountability and transparency, whether it was what happened in Butler or whether it’s what happened down the street, is that we need to make sure these things don’t happen again.”
