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Capitol Police Inspector General to tell Congress of sweeping failures ahead of Jan. 6 Riot by Karoun Demirjian

D.C. Police requested backup at least 17 times in 78 minutes during Capitol Riot

At 1:13 p.m. on Jan. 6, a D.C. Police Commander facing a swelling crowd of protesters on the west side of the U.S. Capitol made an urgent call for more officers in riot gear. “Hard gear at the Capitol! Hard gear at the Capitol!” Cmdr. Robert Glover shouted into his radio. Over the next 78 minutes, Glover requested backup at least 17 times, according to a Washington Post analysis of the events, and the mob on the west side eventually grew to at least 9,400 people, outnumbering officers by more than 58 to one. The Post reviewed police radio communications, synchronized them with hours of footage and drew on testimony and interviews with police supervisors to understand how failures of preparation and planning played out that day. At The Post’s request, a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University analyzed imagery to estimate the number of people outside the Capitol at precise moments. To visualize those numbers more clearly, The Post created a 3-D model of the Capitol grounds that approximated the crowd from a bird’s-eye view using data from the researchers’ crowd-counting software. The examination reveals how police were hampered by an insufficient number of officers and shortages of less-lethal weapons and protective equipment and also provides a glimpse into communications breakdowns within the police response.

House lawmakers are bracing for scathing testimony Thursday about the intelligence failures and operational lapses that left Capitol Police woefully underprepared for the deadly pro-Trump riot on Jan. 6, after preliminary internal reviews exposed several glaring concerns.

Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton is leading an ongoing investigation into why campus law enforcement failed to contain and ultimately was overwhelmed by a mob seeking to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. He has disclosed his initial findings and recommendations to lawmakers in two confidential reports, the summaries and findings of which were obtained by The Washington Post ahead of Bolton’s appearance before the House Administration Committee on Thursday morning.

To date, Bolton’s investigation has uncovered an alarming level of disorganization within the Capitol Police — such that officials tasked with analyzing intelligence warnings leading up to the riot lacked the training to do so effectively, and that the units designated to respond to civil disturbances at the Capitol were operating with outdated rosters and inadequate equipment, according to the summaries. To learn more go to the link below:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/capitol-police-inspector-general/2021/04/14/5892994e-9d39-11eb-b7a8-014b14aeb9e4_story.html

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