The U.S. Capitol Police were critically understaffed last Wednesday, a reality which no one will accept responsibility for and which will have to be thoroughly investigated in the coming days and weeks. But it wasn't just a lack of force that helped an insurrectionist mob lay siege to the People's House, it was in some cases support for the insurrectionists. That's led to several U.S. Capitol Police officers being suspended and more than a dozen others being investigated.
Just to be clear, the officers whose duty is to protect the capitol and the lawmakers and staff within it are under investigation for "suspected involvement with or inappropriate support for the demonstration last week that turned into a deadly riot." There are currently eight separate investigations now in process by Congress, according to an aide who spoke with The Washington Post. That includes investigations into messages of support for the Trump protests that proceeded the attack posted by Capitol Police officers, "including touting President Trump’s baseless contention that the election had been stolen through voter fraud." Another investigation revealed that an officer posted "inappropriate" images of President-elect Biden on a social media account.
Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned Sunday. He has said that he was rebuffed by both the House and Senate sergeants at arms (who have also both resigned) when he tried to have National Guard forces on standby. But the immediate problem now is the fact that there are members of his force who are at the very least sympathetic with the insurrectionists.
"The Department also has been actively reviewing video and other open source materials of some USCP officers and officials that appear to be in violation of Department regulations and policies,” then-Acting Capitol Chief Yogananda Pittman said in a statement Monday. "Our Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate these behaviors for disciplinary action, up to, and including, termination." One of the suspended officers was in an image that went viral after the attack, "posing for a rioter to take a picture with the officer."
According to Rep. Tim Ryan, whose committee has financial oversight of the Capitol Police, another suspended officer was photographed wearing a red "MAGA" hat while the rioters were surrounding the building. "One video taken during the mayhem appears to show an officer wearing a MAGA cap leading a line of men in black helmets and body armor as they leave the Capitol to a crowd of applauding rioters. It is unclear whether other men behind him are officers or rioters." Another officer who spoke with the Post said that the rioters put the cap on the cop, a Black man, and he kept it on in order to convince the mob to help him extract fellow officers who were surrounded. "He used those two White guys, basically, used those Trump supporters to help get his people out of harm's way," the officer told the Post. "If it wasn’t for them, those guys wouldn’t have gotten out."
There are most definitely hero Capitol Police officers, first and foremost Officer Eugene Goodman, another Black officer who quite possibly saved the U.S. Senate by making himself bait to draw the mob away from the entrance to the Senate chamber one minute before that chamber was sealed.
Then there's the officer who is currently being investigated by the Secret Service. The officer posted comments on their Facebook page the day after the siege accusing the lawmakers who certified Biden's win of "committing treason on live tv," and saying "Good morning patriots! Yesterday started out beautiful and as usual Antifa soured the mood and attacked police and an Air Force veteran was murdered….It
s OFFENSE time finally!!"
Two fellow officers are dead, one killed by the mob and one by suicide after the attack. Another turned their gun in and asked for medical leave in the aftermath, fearing the potential for self-harm. One officer who spoke to the Post anonymously said that the force is demoralized and feels betrayed by their leadership. They were not "prepared whatsoever" and left essentially powerless to face the mob. "In my time as an officer, we have never failed so miserably than we did on that day," the officer said. "We were failed by our management. … We were put in a situation to fail. … It's like trying to climb Mount Everest and they give you house slippers."
The Capitol Police have now issued dire warnings that another siege of the Capitol is being planned by Trump's mob. And now, just now, the FBI and Department of Justice are going to have a news conference on last week's mob, the first public statements after the revelation that the FBI had advance knowledge of the violence planned by the mob last week.
Maybe this time, ahead of the inauguration and the promised coup attempts over the next eight days, they'll be prepared to take the necessary actions to prevent more bloodshed. Because the Capitol Police are in no position to deal with what's coming.