MIAMI (CBSMiami) — U.S. Secret Service agent Aaron Francis Engler was found early Friday morning passed out on the sidewalk near the intersection of Brickell Avenue and 7th just hours after President Barack Obama had left South Florida.
According to the arrest report, Miami police officers were in the area around 7 a.m. on an unrelated call when they noticed Engler passed out. According to the arrest report, when the officers checked on the man, he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol. Police said Engler started throwing his arms around while he and started to fight with officers, the report said.
The officers then took Engler to the ground and handcuffed him. As an officer searched Engler’s pockets, he discovered Engler’s Secret Service identification.
The officer didn’t make the find without a fight. During the search, sources said Engler threw his arms around and hit the officer in the chin.
Law enforcement sources told CBS4 Engler told police he was an agent out of Washington and was part of the advance team for the president’s visit on Thursday.
Specifically, the agent was assigned to the agency’s uniformed division and was in a support role, the Associated Press reported.
Once the President left Miami, Engler said he went drinking and got very drunk, law enforcement sources said.
Engler wasn’t armed at the time he was arrested, but was upset because he was supposed to leave Miami on another assignment Friday morning, law enforcement sources said.
Engler was charged with two misdemeanors, disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence, and released on his own recognizance. He was turned over to the Secret Service Friday and was being taken back to Washington, DC.
It’s the latest black eye for the agency charged with protecting the life of the president. In April 2012, the agency was involved in a prostitution scandal in Colombia during the Summit of the Americas.
