- Capitol officers want answers on how to handle future protests after the January 6 attack.
- Several officers told CNN that they had received conflicting information during the attack.
- Union officials are also preparing a “censure” vote on the department’s leadership.
- Visit the Insider Business section for more stories.
Some Capitol police officers are demanding responses almost a month after pro-Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building, and union leaders are preparing a “no confidence” vote in the department’s leadership, CNN reported.
The attack left five people dead, including Officer Brian Sicknick, whose body was placed in honor of the Capitol building on Tuesday night in recognition of his services during the siege.
The breach also resulted in at least 38 police officers in the COVID-19 contracting force, NPR reported. CNN added that more than 100 police officers are still recovering from significant physical injuries. An additional police officer died of suicide after the attack.
Several officials, who remained anonymous, told CNN that they were concerned that the department did not provide clear guidelines on the use of force and that some leaders were not present and others gave conflicting commands.
Read More: Gary Peters hates global warming. But the Democratic senator has just invested in a coal-fired energy company.
Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the agency told CNN: that the events of that day “are still under investigation by several law enforcement agencies, the Department cannot comment on the actions of individuals at this time.”
A Capitol officer who worked the night shift before the attack earlier told Insider that he and other officers expected to work on the day of the riot, but were sent home early and were not called back after the attack.
He told Insider that everyone in the department was aware of the pro-Trump march and he even prepared a backpack full of protein bars and coffee hoping to work more hours, but was instead sent home at 10 am.
“Naively, I thought, well, they must know something that we don’t know. Maybe they have information showing that they are not going up the Hill,” or “they don’t think they are that violent,” he said.
Videos and images of the day showed protesters clashing with police. In one case, a police officer was crushed at a door. Two black officers said that the Pro-Trump protesters called them the n-word and said that some of their fellow police officers appeared to be “attending” to the protesters.
Read More: Democrats are just a second from losing control of the Senate. We analyzed how precarious its ‘gerontocracy’ really is.
Christina Laury, an officer in the Metropolitan Police Department, told the WJLA that by the time the MPD arrived on the scene, the rioters had already taken control of the Capitol. But, she said, the police were doing everything in their power to prevent the rioters from accessing the building, even while being beaten by metal poles and sprayed with an apple.
“I don’t think we even understand the magnitude and number of people who were actually there,” Laury told the vehicle. “When I got there, the cops were already getting, you know, sprayed with whatever these guys had, which I believe they had bear apple, which is literally used for bears.
A Capitol spokesman did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Got a news tip? Email this reporter: [email protected]