Dead police mother asks to investigate insurrection 1:37
Washington (CNN) -
In the weeks after the January 6 insurrection, Capitol Police officers (USCP) were shocked and injured, both physically and psychologically.
They had been through hell, they had sacrificed their bodies, they had lost comrades who died as a result of the attack.
But in the end they had safeguarded democracy and kept their main watchword: to secure and protect the 535 members of Congress.
Officers could settle for the fact that they had done their job and that it looked like a thorough review of the day's events was going to take place, which could expose the system failures that led to the attack and ensure that it did not return. nothing like that will happen.
But in recent weeks those hopes have been extinguished, and what was already a strained relationship between the Capitol Police and some lawmakers has only gotten worse.
Agents are uncomfortable with the efforts of some Republicans to cover up and put the January 6 insurrection behind them, and many worry that the moment will go down in history as a missed opportunity to fix the important shortcomings that the attack revealed.
It hurts that they deny the insurrection of the Capitol, says police 1:02
CNN spoke with more than a dozen current and former Capitol Police officers for this story, interviews that revealed deep levels of frustration among rank-and-file agents who hoped for reform after the attack but have now resigned themselves to it not changing. nothing important.
"We are exactly the same as before, if not worse," said an agent.
"Personally I have a very pessimistic view of the future."
Faced with what appears to be the likely disappearance of a bill to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the events of January 6, officers spoke of being disappointed at how the effort fell apart.
Many are exhausted and overworked, as the 2,300-strong police force has been reduced by recent withdrawals.
Others resent being turned into a political instrument, while Democrats and Republicans squabble over what some agents say should be obvious solutions, such as making some basic security improvements and approval of funds for better equipment.
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New images show mob attack on police officer 6:56
"We have heard all this support from the police, and then your own police force is battered and bruised and now they are reluctant to act?" Said another agent, who like some colleagues spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity to offer an honest assessment of the relationships between Capitol Police officers, legislators, and Capitol leaders.
"I got carried away, I was misled, I listened to the words of (Senate Minority Leader Mitch) McConnell that same night when they met again (on January 6)," said the agent.
"I bought it, I thought, 'Wow, we're really going to get some answers.'
The aftermath of January 6 has also revealed the normally private relationship between Capitol Police officers and members of Congress, revealing a unique power dynamic in law enforcement that lawmakers often believe. they have authority over the agents who have sworn to protect them, the agents say.
Disturbing profile of another Capitol attacker revealed 2:41
"They think we are like servants," said a police officer who recently left the department.
"I prefer to work outside in the heat or cold," said the agent, adding: "I would rather have to deal with people with drug overdoses" than with the staff of legislators.
The agent is one of more than 70 who have left the United States Capitol Police since the Jan. 6 attack, a slightly higher-than-normal desertion rate, according to a law enforcement source.
Another source told CNN that more officer casualties are expected in the near future.
As a consequence of the reduction of the lines, some agents are working days without rest;
an agent told CNN that he had worked more than two weeks at a time.
“We continue to have a hemorrhage of people.
It's amazing to see how these young officers fare, "a senior Capitol Police officer told CNN.
In a statement to CNN, the US Capitol Police described the rigorous amount of work involved in recruiting agents and said that, since January 6, they have incorporated a class of 23 recruits, and that the incorporating another four classes by the end of this year.
CNN correspondent recounts the assault from within 1:45
"We are political pawns"
The problems that Capitol Police officers describe are twofold.
Former and current agents tell CNN that one of the defining characteristics of security work on Capitol Hill is persistent pressure from members of Congress and their staff, who believe they are in control of the agents' actions and that, What's worse, they hardly acknowledge their hard work.
Officers have also seen efforts to beef up Capitol security funding, which would include hiring hundreds of new officers and upgrading outdated Capitol Police equipment, have been embroiled in political infighting.
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Pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers along the perimeter of the Capitol building, confronting police, the full riot gear, and some calling the agents "traitors" for doing their jobs.
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The protesters pushed the metal fences and the police.
They also used the fences to push the protesters back.
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Police officers were seen leaning over metal fences to beat people trying to cross them.
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The session to count and certify Electoral College votes for president and vice president was suspended.
This photo shows Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConell before the suspension.
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A Capitol police officer confronts a horde of pro-Trump protesters as they entered the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The protesters broke through security barriers and entered Congress debating the certification of electoral votes.
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An agitator enters the Senate compound and sits on the main podium.
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Security agents point their weapons at a door that was vandalized in the House of Representatives, during the session to certify the electoral votes of President Joe Biden.
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A crowd of Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol, as seen from inside the building, on the afternoon of January 6, 2021 in Washington.
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This was the situation in the Capitol on January 6 in the afternoon, when the protesters stormed the premises of Congress and confronted the police.
There was tear gas.
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A Capitol police officer wears a gas mask during armed protesters' rampage into Congress.
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A protester is seen hanging from the balcony of the Senate Chamber amid riots at the Capitol.
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Capitol police officers detained several protesters outside the House of Representatives after they stormed a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington protesting Biden's victory.
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Some people in Congress use plastic bags as armed protesters stormed the joint session of Congress to ratify Biden's victory as president.
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A man sat on the main Senate podium, while the Capitol was closed and police tried to contain the escalation of protests.
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Outside the Capitol, pro-Trump protesters continued their protest to prevent the victory of President-elect Joe Biden from being certified.
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Police throw water at protesters who clashed to try to enter the Capitol in Washington.
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Protesters enter the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021 in Washington.
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Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the Capitol Rotunda on January 6, 2021. (Credit: SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
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Demonstrators protest outside the United States Capitol in Washington, after rioters stormed the Congress building.
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Trump supporters clash with police and security forces outside the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. (Credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP via Getty Images)
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Pro-Trump protesters broke through security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated Electoral College certification.
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Crowds gather outside the United States Capitol on January 6 amid clashes with police.
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A Capitol police officer looks out of a broken window as protesters gather at the building on January 6, 2021 in Washington.
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Pro-Trump protesters gather outside the US Capitol building.
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The image shows the deployment of tear gas as pro-Trump protesters enter the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. (Credit: Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images)
Many officers have raised concerns that the building itself remains unsafe and that much more needs to be done to reinforce weak spots, such as windows that were able to break through shakers with poles and stools.
House Democrats last week approved a $ 1.9 billion emergency funding package for the Capitol, which would include funds to hire more agents, buy new equipment and install retractable fences. It was narrowly passed, 213-212, amid united opposition from the Republican Party, and the legislation faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Allocation Commission leaders from both parties have coldly received the bill. of the camera.
What is even more offensive to some officials is the effort by a majority of Republicans to block an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack. While 35 House Republicans joined Democrats in favor of the bill, House Republican leadership opposed a bipartisan deal for the commission and Senate Republicans are preparing to block the bill. .
It's unclear whether a last-minute effort by the mother of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick to meet with GOP senators ahead of the expected Jan.6 commission vote will alter that result.
In a statement obtained by CNN, Gladys Sicknick writes: "Not having a commission on January 6 to investigate exactly what happened is a slap in the face from every agent who did their job that day."
A Capitol Police officer pays tribute before a memorial ceremony for United States Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, 42, as he lies in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday, February 3, 2021.
"We are political pawns," said one agent.
"Now the people that we have sworn to protect and that we protected on the 6th do not want to finance us or find out what really happened that day."
In a remarkable moment before the vote in the House of Representatives last week, a Capitol Police officer wrote a letter claiming to have the endorsement of up to 50 colleagues criticizing those who voted against the commission in the style of the of 9/11.
“It is inconceivable that some of the members we protect downplay the events of January 6.
Members' safety depended on the heroic actions of the USCP.
It is a privilege for the members to be able to have the point of view that 'it wasn't that bad,' ”the letter said.
"That privilege exists because the brave men and women of the USCP protected you, the legislators."
The letter was issued on the official Capitol Police letterhead, furthering confusion that the department was taking an official position on pending legislation.
Capitol Police leaders quickly issued a statement distancing the department from the letter, though it did not soften the sentiment.
The letter exposed the frictions, normally private, between the agents and the legislators, and generated tensions among the rank and file.
Some officers, unhappy with the publication of the letter, suggest that internal disagreements be kept private.
Museum searches for objects documenting assault on Capitol 1:14
Republicans have denounced that the effort led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to create a commission has been clouded by politics from the start, arguing that the commission's proposal is politically biased.
"For months, the Speaker of the House refused to negotiate in good faith the basic parameters that would govern a commission to examine the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, in a statement explaining his opposition.
Both McCarthy and McConnell have pointed to ongoing investigations in Congress and the Justice Department, and a Senate GOP adviser noted that two Senate committees are preparing to publish a bipartisan report on the security breaches next. month, something that many Senate Republicans have pointed to to explain their opposition to the commission.
The GOP Senate aide also said reviews are expected within the Capitol Police once a new chief is hired.
Caught in a tripartite struggle
The Capitol Police have also been involved in political struggle on a smaller scale.
As a result of the numerous changes and security measures put in place by Pelosi, many officers now spend much of their day manning the metal detectors that lawmakers must pass upon entering the House floor.
Police officers try to push back a pro-Trump mob trying to break into the United States Capitol after a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Republicans, outraged after Pelosi installed the metal detectors, vowed to ignore them, prompting the president to institute fines for House members who bypass the metal detectors.
And the Capitol police are caught in the middle.
Some officers complain that they have been relegated to doing the job of aisle watchers, fining members for rule violations and caught in the middle of a political fight in the House over the Jan. 6 fallout.
The senior Capitol Police officer said the USCP is "caught in a three-way fight - the USCP leadership, the Speaker of the House, and the members," and that all of them "are moving, in every way. senses, in the wrong direction on this.
“We have too many people in charge.
But these are not safety rules, they are political rules, "said the agent.
“If McConnell and McCarthy were in charge, it would still be the same.
They all want to control us.
Pelosi has defended her decision to install metal detectors outside the House, and has pushed for new security funding based on the recommendations of retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, who was appointed by the President to review the attack on 6 January.
In a speech last week, Pelosi also noted that the House would vote next month on revised legislation to award Capitol Police officers the Congressional Gold Medal, which was supported by McCarthy.
"I know they have better things to do"
Capitol Police officers tour the compound of the United States Capitol building on January 7, 2021 in Washington, DC.
In the aftermath of the riots, many officers expected the relationship with lawmakers to be warmer and more appreciative.
And so it was for a time, as various legislators did things like bring the officers breakfast or stop by with sandwiches or lunches or make a special gesture of thanks.
But for some officials, these acts of kindness are hollow, given the reluctance of some members to back them with votes in the House or Senate.
One agent said, 'I can buy my fucking donut.
I can't vote.
For other agents, the memory of some legislators seems to have quickly faded.
In April, Republican Congressman Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska double-tested the emergency button on his office to check the response time of the Capitol Police, according to Fortenberry Chief of Staff Andrew Braner in a statement to CNN.
"The congressman repeatedly told the police: 'I know you have better things to do than this.'
But, given the violent insurrection of the crowds on Capitol Hill, we thought it wise to put our systems to the test, "Braner said in the statement.
Still, the evidence upset police officers, who told CNN they felt lawmakers should know that they will always respond to a panic call from a congressman.
Earlier this month, Rep. Virginia Foxx rushed through metal detectors on her way to a vote in the House of Representatives, tossing her purse to the ground next to the magnetometer and ignoring attempts by Capitol Police officers. for stopping it, according to a review by the House Ethics Committee.
"Thank goodness no one stopped me," the North Carolina Republican said when she passed the checkpoint again, according to the review.
He was fined US $ 5,000.
She is one of several legislators who have been fined under the new rules.
Some officials say incidents with congressmen and staff only reinforce the notion that they are there for the convenience of congressmen, not for their protection.
"I call our department the United States Convenience Police," an agent told CNN.
"Our main job is to make life easier for them and not question anything."
Another officer said, "They treat us like 'mall cop'."
Attack on the Capitol uprising on the Capitol