Inspector general points to problems within Capitol Police

WASHINGTON — The Capitol Police Department needs to restructure its civil disturbance unit and overhaul its intelligence operation, glaring problems that hampered the department’s ability to secure the Capitol on the Jan. 6 attack.

The summary of Capitol Police Inspector General Michael A. Bolton’s findings, obtained by CQ Roll Call, illustrates a department woefully unprepared for the deadly proTrump insurrection, including a lack of training and operational planning deficiencies. Bolton will appear Thursday before the House Administration Committee to discuss his work.

Bolton, in his prepared testimony, says the department needs to undergo a fundamental culture transformation.

“In regards to culture change, we see that the Department needs to move away from the thought process as a traditional Police Department and move to the posture as a Protective Agency,” Bolton will say. “A police department is a reactive force. A crime is committed; police respond and make an arrest. Whereas, a Protective Agency is postured to being proactive to prevent events such as January 6th.”

The civil disturbance unit, or CDU, a collection of officers tasked with quelling riots and dealing with other large events, was lacking on a wide range of fronts, according to Bolton’s report.

“USCP did not have adequate policies and procedures for CDU defining its responsibilities, duties, composition, equipment and training,” Bolton wrote. “CDU was operating at a decreased level of readiness as a result of a lack of standards for equipment, deficiencies noted from the events of January 6, 2021, a lapse in certain certifications, an inaccurate CDU roster, staffing concerns for the unit, quarterly audits that were not performed, and property inventories not in compliance with guidance.”

Officers get CDU trained at the academy, but most officers don’t have the corresponding CDU gear, according to a Capitol Police officer who spoke with CQ Roll Call on the condition of anonymity.

“Out of our uniformed division, we probably have close to 1,400 officers. Two hundred of them have gear. That’s it,” the officer said.

In the past, the department has taken gear from officers as they rise in seniority and transfer it to the younger officers who comprise a large portion of the CDU.