Capitol Police internal surveillance dog on Thursday described in distressing detail how officers were sadly unprepared for the January 6 insurgency after leaders failed to communicate intelligence warnings and decided not to supply weapons more effective in combating the violent crowd.
Speaking to a House committee, Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton highlighted two recent reports listing numerous upper chain failures and calling for a major overhaul of training and operations by force. .
Bolton told lawmakers on the House Administration Committee that Capitol police leadership opted for the use of stronger weapons, such as bullets, out of concern that they would be misused and cause injuries that would cause the life or death in the midst of the attack on the Capitol.
Had these heavier weapons been used, Bolton said, it would have helped Capitol police establish a “better stance to repel these attackers.”
“It would be very difficult to say that it would have absolutely changed the current, but it would certainly have given them more chances to do what they were supposed to do,” he added.
Both Bolton reports have focused on intelligence gathering operations of the Capitol Police and the Civil Disturbance Unit tasked with responding to the protests. The inspector general’s office is now in the process of providing “flash reports” every 30 days that are expected to cover other factors in the Capitol Police response on Jan. 6, including the use of the hand of the Capitol. work, training and K-9 units.
Reports found that Capitol police did not ensure that an FBI bulletin warning of the threat of violence reached members of management before January 6th. According to the report, an officer from the Capitol Police task force assigned to the FBI Guardian Squadron task force emailed the FBI note to an internal email distribution list of Capitol Police “late in the evening” on Jan. 5, but neither Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund nor current acting chief Yogananda Pittman saw it in time.
Bolton said Capitol police should upgrade their intelligence division to a large-scale office and make sure analysts are properly trained to handle intelligence on threats to the Capitol and members. of Congress.
“We need an intelligence office. Right now it is considered a division of intelligence. It has to be a full and complete service, ”Bolton said on Thursday.
His report further recommends that all Capitol Police employees obtain security clearances and receive informative reports on emerging threats and tactics.
But Bolton confirmed in response to question from Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) That the Capitol Police Inspector General’s office has made this recommendation before, including 2019, just so the force would ignore it.
“Several recommendations from previous reports have been made, but not implemented,” Steil said with frustration.
About 140 Capitol police and DC police were injured during the uprising, while one officer, Brian Sicknick, was killed. A second Capitol police officer, Howard Liebengood, died of suicide days later.
“The inspector general’s report confirms that the USCP leadership had practicable intelligence and did nothing about it. They may try to blame the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security, but the USCP leadership has to take responsibility, “Gus Papathanasiou, president of the Capitol Police union, said Thursday.
“Congress must hold these leaders accountable,” he added.
Other reforms Bolton sought include making the Civil Disruption Unit a more attractive task within the Capitol Police. His findings described that the unit had a reputation among officers as a less desirable location and that it only operated on an “ad hoc” basis.
Bolton suggested providing an additional risk pay for officers serving the unit as a financial incentive and turning it into a specially trained full-time assignment.
“I firmly believe that when you create a specialized, autonomous unit that receives additional training, that receives the recommendation that they be, as you would say, professionalized, that it will naturally attract others to want to belong to an elite,” Bolton said in response to the question. the representative. Jamie Raskin
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The inspector general’s report found that Capitol police failed to ensure that their weapons inventory was properly maintained, leaving officers without the proper equipment to defend themselves from the violent crowd of insurgents.
According to the report, some of the Capitol Police riot shields were broken on impact because they were incorrectly stored in a trailer that was not controlled by the weather. In addition, a platoon of the Civil Disturbance Unit was unable to access other riot shields stored on a bus because the door was locked. Consequently, the platoon had to respond to the crowd without any riot shield.
“Training deficiencies put officers, our brave men and women, in the position of not being successful,” Bolton said.
Congress is expected to take on a spending package focused on increasing Capitol security, but its timetable is still unclear. In addition to the Bolton reports, lawmakers are also reviewing the recommendations of a team led by the late General Russel Honoré.
Honoré’s report called for more police to be hired and a retractable fence to be set up around the Capitol that could be erected in emergency situations.
Lawmakers are expected to meet with Bolton again to ask more questions about his reports and how Congress should act on them.
Chair of the Board of Directors of the Chamber Zoe Lofgren
Zoe Ellen Lofgren: Capitol police surveillance problems report killing “deficiencies” before the riot. (D-California) stopped the hearing on Thursday afternoon due to a long series of votes in the floor, but said it would meet again on Friday or sometime next week for members to have additional opportunities to questions.