Incompetent cops in a den of cowardice

OUT IN FORCE BLM rally in June

OVER the past eight years, I’ve tasted tear gas, dodged rubber bullets and been in the way of bricks and bottles countless times.

At one point I even had the laser red dot of a police marksman’s gun centred on my chest. Between Minneapolis, Ferguson and Baltimore, I’ve stood on the front line with both police and protesters.

On Wednesday, stood among a vastly greater crowd at the Capitol building than those three city riots could collectively muster, I saw the most pathetic display of policing.

The senior chiefs responsible should hang their heads in shame and hand in their badges. Images of their officers humiliated policing around the world. Cops posing for selfies with rioters, opening gates to invite them in and standing idly by as trouble flared was shameful.

In the summer, the same force met peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas outside the White House to clear the way for Donald Trump’s photo op with military leaders and a Bible at a nearby church.

On Wednesday, they let his baying mob of extremists storm a locked-down Capitol unopposed.

In a city already on high alert knowing thousands ds embolden by their leader were expected, in a building with its own 2,000officer police department, rioters with sticks and shields still managed to force their way into the depths of American democracy.

Capitol Police showed itself to be a den of cowardice, incompetence and systemic racism. Its motto is: “A Tradition of Service and Protection”. The question is, who do they serve and protect?