'Fit of rage' at Social Security office

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Debris and damage are visible on Tuesday at the Social Security Office on Munson Avenue. Record-Eagle/Keith King

July 6, 2011

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY bmcgillivary@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Mon Apr 02, 2012, 03:06 PM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Douglas David McCallum took a serious wrong turn, fueled, he said, by financial desperation and his frustration with the Social Security Administration’s continued denial of his disability claim.

McCallum battled for six years to secure a claim his lawyers told him was a sure thing. But Social Security officials ruled otherwise, and McCallum’s patience gave out Sunday evening, when he rammed his van into the closed Social Security Administration office on Munson Avenue in Traverse City.

“It was a fit of rage caused by years of being screwed over by the government,” said McCallum, 47, of Kingsley.

Police said McCallum bowled his 1999 Chevy Astro van over the Social Security office’s sign shortly before 8 p.m. on July 3. A witness told police he then positioned the van so the rear end faced the office’s front entrance, accelerated, and crashed about halfway through the door.

He pulled forward, then reversed again and forced the van completely into the building.

The witness told police the driver got out, walked across the street and entered Munson Community Health Center, which contains an urgent care clinic.

Police found McCallum inside the health center and arrested him for malicious destruction of property, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

He was not injured and did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, said Capt. Steve Morgan, of the Traverse City Police Department.

Robert Simpson worked 26 years for the Social Security Administration and never saw a frustrated claimant act out violently.

“Most people are reasonable,” said Simpson, who manages the Traverse City office. “They have to meet the requirements of the law and if they don’t agree with the determination, they have appeal rights.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Simpson said as he stood outside the demolished entryway Tuesday and watched workers clear debris.

McCallum was released from jail July 4 on a personal recognizance bond. He had not been charged by late Tuesday.

He could face federal charges, but federal agencies prefer to let the local prosecutor handle it, said Bob Cooney, an assistant Grand Traverse County prosecuting attorney.

The Social Security office opened for business as usual Tuesday. Staff called all of their appointments to forewarn them of the disruption and tried to handle business over the phone, Simpson said.

Office visitors now must enter through a secure employee entrance. They are then escorted by guards hired by the Federal Protective Services, a federal law enforcement agency that provides security to federal property.

The agency also assigned guards to secure the building over the holiday weekend until the alarm system was repaired, Simpson said.

It likely will take a couple of weeks to rebuild the entrance, repair the lobby, and replace damaged furniture, Simpson said.