A member of Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Service detail landed in the hospital after an altercation with several other Secret Service agents near Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C., officials said.
Harris was not present when the incident unfolded on Monday morning, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, told CBS News on Wednesday. The agent, who was not identified, started displaying “behavior their colleagues found distressing” around 9 a.m. local time, he said in the statement.
According to sources cited by the news station, the agent spouted gibberish, was speaking incoherently and provoked another officer physically before shoving the special agent in charge.
The agent was immediately handcuffed and detained by intervening agents, sources added, and ambulances were called to the scene.
“The agent was removed from their assignment while medical personnel were summoned,” the statement continued.
“The U.S. Secret Service takes the safety and health of our employees very seriously,” the USSS added. “As this was a medical matter, we will not disclose any further details.”
The altercation reportedly unfolded about an hour before Harris arrived at the airbase for a flight to Wisconsin. She was at the Naval Observatory at the time of the scuffle, and according to officials, it had “no impact on her departure from Joint Base Andrews.”
Sources told CBS the agent was admitted to the hospital and that no signs of substance abuse turned up during his preliminary examination. The USSS said it will determine whether the agent will be able to return to work after further medical evaluation and examinations.
At this time, the episode is being treated as a medical incident rather than a disciplinary matter.
