Several U.S. Capitol Police officers are now suspended, and over a dozen others are being investigated for their possible involvement in last week’s deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol.
Acting Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman confirmed the internal review and suspensions in a statement Monday night.
“The Department also has been actively reviewing video and other open-source materials of some USCP officers and officials that appear to be in violation of Department regulations and policies,” she said. “Our Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate these behaviors for disciplinary action, up to, and including termination.”
This probing comes as the Capitol Police faces intense scrutiny over the lack of security at the complex on January 6th and how they handled the violent protesters, even posing for photographs with them at times.
In total, there are eight active investigations. In one of them, investigators located messages from Capitol Police officers showing support for the deadly riot and even supporting Donald Trump’s false election fraud claims. Another case discovered that a Capitol officer posted “inappropriate” images of Joe Biden on their social media account. One of the officers suspended was spotted wearing a red MAGA baseball cap when rioters were surrounding the Capitol. At the same time, another officer was seen also wearing a MAGA baseball cap leading a group of men in body armor to a crowd of cheering rioters.
Former Capitol Police chief Steven Sund, who resigned following the attack, told The Washington Post that congressional security officials refused his efforts to place the District of Columbia National Guard on standby before the joint session to certify the presidential election.
In total, five people lost their lives in the chaos, including one Capitol police officer. While multiple arrests have been made, no one has been apprehended in connection to the officer’s death.
