Fiasco for cops off guard
‘Grave’ security failure
Police were overwhelmed and seemingly unprepared for the crush of protesters who stormed the US Capitol Wednesday — infuriating the lawmakers they are tasked with protecting.
“The breach today at the US Capitol raises grave security concerns,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California said in a statement.
“I intend to have the Committee on House Administration work with the bipartisan House and Senate leadership to address these concerns and review the response in the coming days,” she said.
Capitol Police even appeared to accommodate some of the protesters. In one video, police are seen stepping out of the way when a barricade is moved outside the Capitol Building and a crowd of supporters of President Trump flow through.
The clip, posted on Twitter, shows a handful of Capitol Police off icers possibly even moving the metal barricade themselves.
One man was seen inside the barricade then urges the crowd, carrying Trump and US flags, forward, the video shows.
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Twitter poster Steve Schmidt wrote in the caption.
“These ‘Officers’ should be suspended while they are investigated,” he wrote.
“What a dereliction of duty. If what happened is what I just saw then they should be prosecuted and locked away until they die.”
Another video from inside the Capitol showed police posing for self ies with protesters who breached the building and vandalized offices and even the legislative chambers.
One woman was shot and killed and several off icers were injured.
Timothy Dimoff, a former SWAT force member who now runs a security company, said police were simply unprepared.
“They knew this group was coming. They knew it was going to be enormous, but they didn’t do any preparation to control the crowd such as fencing, barricades and cement structures to prevent traff ic and people flow,” Dimoff told Bloomberg News.
The protest came as Congress was preparing to vote to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump continues to contest.
The breach forced a halt to the proceedings and forced lawmakers to flee to safety.
The massive mob converged on the Capitol following a rally by Trump outside the White House earlier on Wednesday.
In a briefing, DC Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said that the mob was bent on doing damage to the building and to cops.
“It was clear that the crowd was intent on causing harm to our officers by deploying chemical irritants on police, on force entry into the United States Capitol Building.”
Capitol police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post on Wednesday.