Air Force officials have launched a command-directed investigation into why at least two armed Security Forces airmen mistakenly entered a residence on Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, while a child was alone inside, a base spokesperson said. A video of the incident shows at least two officers entering the home with their service pistols drawn.
“We can confirm that on April 28, members of the 316th Security Forces Squadron entered the wrong home while armed, and a minor was present inside,” the Joint Base Andrews spokesperson told Task & Propose. “All personnel who drew their weapons are no longer armed as of April 28. The matter is under review.”
The spokesperson confirmed that an initial review is now a command-directed investigation of the incident, which was captured on a doorbell camera video posted to a popular Air Force-focused Facebook page. Members of the 316th Security Forces Squadron were responding to a domestic incident when they went into the wrong unit of a duplex on base while armed, the JBA spokesperson confirmed.
The video shows at least two Security Forces personnel, who have police powers within the Air Force, entering a home through its front door with their weapons drawn. The first officer calls out once and points his pistol into the home as he briefly waits for a second airmen to step into position and draw her weapon. The two then enter the home together.
The footage was submitted by a poster who said she is the mother of the child who was alone inside the house. In an accompanying post, she wrote that Security Forces airmen confronted her son with weapons and frisked him while holding a pistol.
Task & Purpose was unable to reach the woman who submitted the post and video.
At least some of the airmen in the video, the spokesperson told Task & Purpose, are no longer performing duties that would require them to be armed.
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Command investigations are ordered by a unit commander and overseen by a senior officer outside of the unit’s chain of command. The investigating officer for the April 28 incident has not yet been named, but will not be from the base’s security forces squadron, the spokesperson said.
The base spokesperson did not specify how many of the Security Forces airmen have been removed from full duty pending the review’s outcome. Those airmen are currently performing duties that don’t require them to be armed, the spokesperson said.
No information was immediately available about the home’s owner or the age of the child.
“The safety and protection of our airmen and their families is our highest priority,” the spokesperson said. “No additional details can be released at this time.”
