Robert L. Oatman does executive protection - and no, he isn't a beefy, brainless bodyguard.
He is a fit, trim and congenial figure who likes to wear crisp suits and who works with his team to draw up complex plans for shielding people they're paid to protect. It's a point of professional pride that none of his clients have ever been attacked on his watch over the past 20 years.
"If you've got to touch your gun, it means you've made a mistake," said Oatman, 62, whose R.L. Oatman & Associates Inc. is based in Towson. "It's not about the gun. It's all about planning."
Much of the work that Oatman and his associates do is low profile and behind the scenes, since most clients don't want attention drawn to them and they want to avoid dangerous situations. Because of the confidential nature of his work, Oatman avoids publicity and ordinarily would've scoffed at the idea of allowing a film crew to shoot him and his team in action - until the right opportunity called.
A New York-based television production company called him up a few months ago, wanting to send a crew to shadow him and his team on one of their missions for a new show called "Dangerous Drives," on Fox's Speed Channel cable network.
It turned out to be a new kind of adventure for Oatman, who has been on many in his 40 years of law enforcement and executive protection experience. In September, Oatman and his team protected thriller writer Brad Thor on a trip to some of the grittiest parts of Mexico City while the author did research for a book on drug trafficking and kidnapping - and a film crew taped their efforts.
"This was a unique challenge," Oatman said. "He really wanted to see the other side" of Mexico City.
Oatman spent 20 years in the Baltimore County Police Department, rising to the rank of major and chief of detectives and receiving highly specialized training in criminal intelligence, surveillance and personal protection.
He retired from the department in 1989 and immediately launched an executive protection service, bringing aboard another retired county policeman, Rick Heaps.
For years, Oatman, a published author and noted expert in his field, steadily built a reputation in executive protection, largely through satisfied clients and word of mouth.
