As widely reported, on the night of Friday May 29, amid protests and riots, a gunman inside a vehicle outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland fired upon two Federal Protective Services (FPS) contract “Protective Security Officers” (PSO’s), who were on duty at the site. The gunman killed one of the of PSO’s and critically wounded the other.
The deceased security officer, who gave his life in the line of duty, was Dave Patrick Underwood. The National Association of Security Companies (NASCO), whose member private security companies employ 500,000 highly trained security officers across the United States, including thousands of Officer Underwood’s fellow FPS PSO’s, expresses its deepest condolences to the family of Officer Underwood. NASCO also wishes for the speedy and full recovery of the PSO who was seriously wounded alongside Officer Underwood that night.
Said NASCO Executive Director Steve Amitay, “Most people don’t realize that it is dedicated contract private security officers who are the first line of protection at federal buildings and offices across the U.S. Over the past decade, on several occasions, private security officers have engaged armed gunmen at federal facilities, and unfortunately, this is not the first time a security officer has been killed in the line of duty. FPS PSO’s, other federal contract security officers, and really all private security officers out there are owed a debt of gratitude for their service to protect and keep our country safe, especially during these tense and difficult times. “
Officer Underwood was employed by a security company that is part of the FPS “Protective Security Officer Program,” a successful public-private partnership in which FPS oversees and utilizes almost 14,000 security officers from approximately 30 different private security companies to provide protection at thousands of federally owned or leased facilities across the country. All PSO’s (like Officer Underwood) are subject to rigorous FPS training, certification and vetting requirements and they work closely on a day to day basis with the almost 1000 Law Enforcement Officers of the FPS. Officer Underwood will be remembered and missed by his fellow PSO’s and the FPS community.
NASCO has made a $2000 donation to a GoFundMe page set up to support the family of Officer Underwood and the PSO who was wounded in the attack.
