Payson Roundup

Andy Towle/Roundup - atowle@payson.com

Jamie Escobedo (left) and Jimmy Oestmann, Department of Public Safety officers, hold a commemorative newspaper and display their U.S. Marshal badges and pins for their service of presidential protection at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

A pair of Payson law enforcement officers were among the U.S. Marshals carefully monitoring the 2 million enthusiastic spectators who greeted President Barack Obama along his inauguration parade route.

Jimmy Oestmann and Lt. Jamie Escobedo, both Department of Public Safety officers, along with a contingent of 50-plus other Arizona lawmen, were hand-picked to travel to Washington, D.C. to help provide presidential security during the historic ceremonies.

But before Oestmann and Escobedo could become members of the security force, they had to be sworn in as federal officers.

“The day before the inauguration, they did a mass briefing and swearing in of about 4,100 officers in the American University basketball arena,” Oestmann said.

After being sworn in, Oestmann, Escobedo and their fellow Arizona officers — all trained in crowd control and civil emergency response — were positioned on Pennsylvania Avenue for the parade.

Although Obama’s limousine, with a USA 1 license plate, passed only about 10 feet away from Oestmann and Escobedo, the two never got a glimpse of the new president.

“My back was turned (to Obama) because we were monitoring the crowd,” Oestmann said. “It was our job to watch for any disturbances, suspicious persons or anyone unruly.”

Escobedo said it also is federal protocol for the security force to stand in such a manner during presidential ceremonies.

Although the largest gathering in national capitol history turned out for the parade and inauguration, the event was trouble-free.

“I’ve worked the Super Bowl and other big events, and this was the most respectful and positive crowd I’ve ever seen,” Oestmann said.

“The next day I picked up a Washington newspaper and read there was not one single arrest.”

Escobedo believes there were no problems because “it was a family (event) and had a celebratory atmosphere. People were very respectful, especially to our officers.”

Midway through the parade, Obama and his wife, Michelle, stepped out of the limousine and walked a few blocks to the rousing cheers of the enthusiastic crowd.

Both officers remember that all along the 1.5-mile route, spectators bundled in coats, parkas and blankets braved the bitter cold standing shoulder-to-shoulder and at least 10 feet deep trying to get a glimpse of the president.

Although official weather reports show the temperature was 27 degrees when the parade started at 3:35 p.m., both Oestmann and Escobedo doubt those measurements.

“The wind chill factor made it colder than that, probably it was in the single digits,” Oestmann said.

For Escobedo, “Twenty-seven degrees would have been welcome, we were popsicles.”

Both Payson officers, reported at 2:30 a.m. Inauguration Day morning for the ceremonies, and finally went off duty just before 7 p.m.

The two and the other Arizona officers were bussed back to their hotel rooms in Baltimore where they were allowed to rest and recuperate for a few hours before the long flight back to Phoenix.

“It was a long, long day with a lot of responsibilities, but it was an experience neither of us will ever forget,” Oestmann said.

That’s easy to understand. Not many can claim they were once entrusted to guard the most important man in the free world.