- Multiple Incidents: Commander, the White House dog, has bitten or attempted to bite Secret Service personnel and other staff on multiple occasions.
- Serious Injuries: Some agents sustained severe injuries, including deep open wounds and significant blood loss, requiring medical treatment and stitches.
- Ongoing Documentation: The Secret Service is compiling a list of personnel affected by Commander’s aggressive behavior, detailing the nature and extent of the incidents.
The Secret Service has released documents in response to a FOIA request regarding the White House dog, Commander, and his interactions with Secret Service personnel. The case identified as number 20240012 was filed by The Black Vault on October 5, 2023, and the final response was received on February 20, 2024. The documents reveal a series of incidents where Commander has bitten or attempted to bite members of the Secret Service and other staff.
One incident occurred on October 2, 2022, when an agent was bitten on the left forearm by Commander while holding the door open of the Palm Room/West Colonnade side. The agent reported that Commander circled back and grabbed his arm, and then stood up to his height before the President entered the room. The agent was checked by the White House Medical Staff, and no puncture wounds were found.
But not all agents were so lucky to be left unscathed. With the growing number of incidents, the Presidential Protection Division, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, sent out an email to the Presidential Secret Service detail asking about who was bit by Commander.
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The day after this email was sent, another notable incident occurred on June 15, 2023, when an agent was bit by Commander. Commander ran at a high speed towards one Secret Service agent, and lunged at them while biting their left arm, which also resulted in stiches. One document recounting this incident stated that “East Wing tours were stopped for approximately 20 minutes due to blood from the incident bring on the floors in the area of the Booksellers.” There was video of this, but it was not released even though video evidence was requested. An appeal has been filed.
The next month in July 2023, Commander also bit another Secret Service agent in what was described as a “severe deep open wound”. The record goes on to state that the agent, “… started to loose (sic) a significant amount of blood from arm,” and after being treated by the White House Medical team, was administered six stitches and antibiotics.
In addition to these specific incidents, the documents also show efforts by the Secret Service to compile a list of personnel who have been bitten by Commander. This includes details such as the date of the incident, the location of the bite on the body, and whether medical treatment was received.
The documents can be downloaded in full below. Once the results of the FOIA appeal are known, they will be posted on The Black Vault. Make sure you subscribe to The Black Vault on social media channels, along with subscribing to the free update newsletter to keep up to date.
Document Archive
Secret Service Documents Reveal White House Dog Commander’s Biting Incidents [272 Pages, 23.4MB]
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