Capitol riot review calls for hundreds more police

More funds, bodycams are also recommended

WASHINGTON – U.S. Capitol Police should dramatically expand staffing, focus on intelligence gathering and coordinate better with the National Guard to prevent another attack like the Jan. 6 riot, according to a security review headed by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore that was presented to House members Monday.

The House and Senate will have to consider which recommendations to adopt and how to fund them. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-calif., who asked Honore to lead the review, has called the report a draft that will require additional funding.

Recommendations in the 15-page report include:

h Better funding for Capitol Police, a force of about 2,000 officers that has 233 vacancies and spent 55% of its overtime for the year during the first five months of the fiscal year. The report recommended creating 854 more jobs to reduce overtime and cover new duties such as intelligence gathering.

h Hastening the ability of the Capitol Police chief to request support from other law enforcement agencies or the National Guard, which now requires a cumbersome process with the Capitol Police Board. Hourslong delays in requesting the Guard occurred Jan. 6.

h Adopting mobile fencing around the Capitol, which would be easily erected and removed during emergencies. Rioters on Jan. 6 were able to quickly overcome metal barricades that officers stood behind.

h Improving communications, to allow leaders to bypass cluttered radio channels to communicate without interruption. The report also recommended that officers wear body cameras, as Metropolitan Police do.

h Immediately enhancing security for lawmakers in their district offices and homes.

h Considering the use of more bombsniffing dogs and perhaps even a resumption of horse patrols, which were discontinued in 2005.

The recommendations come after the insurrection Jan. 6, when rioters stormed through the building, vandalized offices and delayed the counting of Electoral College votes. About 140 police officers were injured in the attack, including Capitol Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from his injuries the next day.

The 16-member review team included

former Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer; Maj. Gen. Errol Schwartz, the commander of the D.C. National Guard; retired Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan; and retired Army Lt. Gen. Karen Gibson, the new Senate sergeant-at-arms.

Pelosi had asked Honore to review Capitol security after insurrectionists broke into and vandalized the building and attacked officers Jan. 6, delaying the counting of Electoral College votes.

Pelosi said lawmakers would have to review the recommendations and determine how much to spend. Some of the recommendations, such as the extent of fencing to remain around the building, will be contentious.

“It’s going to take more money to protect the Capitol in a way that enables people to come here, children to come and see our democracy in action,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday.

POOL PHOTO/AP Staffing and funding for U.S. Capitol Police officers should grow, according to a security review being presented to House members Monday.