(4 of 7)
Sipple had arrived at his pivotal destination wholly by accident. He had left his apartment some seven blocks away shortly after a 10 a.m. breakfast of cereal and coffee. Unemployed and fond of long walks on nice days, he had considered strolling to Fisherman's Wharf. Instead, he wandered toward Union Square, where he was surprised at the number of demonstrators protesting such conditions as high oil prices, poor schools and U.S. involvement in the Middle East. He asked why they were there. "What's the matter with you, stupid?" one replied. "Don't you read the papers? Ford's here."
Figuring that Ford "was from Detroit just like me," Sipple decided to get a look at the President. He joined the crowd across the street from the hotel and, as others got tired of waiting, found himself in the front row. As he shifted from foot to foot and chain-smoked, he was crowded against Moore. Shortly after 3 p.m., about 100 Secret Service agents and police lined both sides of the street and faced the waiting crowd. The spectators began jostling in anticipation, and Sipple was pushed behind Moore. All the activity suggested that the President might soon appear.
Gerald Ford's blue and silver jet had landed at the remote Bayside Coast Guard facility of San Francisco International Airport at 10:16 that morning. As he emerged after a pleasant weekend stay at the Monterey home of U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Leonard Firestone, the security lineup was impressive: Secret Service agents, highway patrolmen, military police, county police and a special San Mateo County S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics) sniper squad with rifles and camouflage gear. As the motorcade headed into town, every overpass was guarded by two officers with rifles at the ready. A security helicopter chopped overhead.
After Ford's first stop at the Hyatt Hotel on Union Square, he was wisked by limousine to the St. Francis Hotel, even though it was an easy one-block walk. The ride took 24 seconds. He sped past one sign: FREE PATTY HEARST, ARREST GERALD FORD! Six agents jogged beside the bulletproof car. Police with binoculars and rifles looked out over the Union Square park from atop high-rise buildings. Two crouched under a lofty FLY THE FRIENDLY SKIES OF UNITED sign.
Ford smiled and waved at the crowd as he entered the St. Francis at 11:25 a.m. At a jammed preluncheon cocktail reception for Ford, invited guests were startled by the apparent lack of security precautions. They flashed their tickets but underwent no check against guest lists, no opening of purses or X-raying of briefcases. "There's more security on an airliner than there was for the President at that moment," recalled John Chase, a Transamerica Corp. vice president. A perspiring Ford pushed through the milling guests.
It was a full four hours before Ford finally got into an elevator to descend to the lobby. He had been willingly detained by a local television interview, which he thought had gone nicely. The increasingly restless crowd outside had no way of knowing when he would emerge from the Post Street exit. But at 3:29 p.m. Ford strode briskly down the 14 final steps and out onto the sidewalk.