The official tasked with investigating U.S. Capitol Police’s response to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol detailed various deficiencies in department operations to a House committee on Thursday and said that the force needs to undergo a “culture change.”
Along with other recommended operational changes, Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton told the House Administration Committee that his findings suggest that the department needs to become less like a police force and more like a proactive protective force.
“In regards to culture change, we see that the department needs to move away from the thought process as a traditional police department and move to the posture as a protective agency,” Bolton said in his opening statement. “A police department is a reactive force. A crime is committed; police respond and make an arrest. Whereas, a protective agency is postured to being proactive to prevent events such as Jan. 6.”
CAPITOL POLICE WATCHDOG’S PRELIMINARY REPORT ON JAN. 6 RIOT CRITICIZES ‘DEFICIENCIES’
Bolton told the committee about particular vulnerabilities within the department that put it in a poor position on Jan. 6, including deficiencies in the communication of intelligence and operational planning.
“USCP failed to disseminate relevant information obtained from outside sources, lacked consensus on the interpretation of threat analyses, and disseminated conflicting intelligence information regarding planned events for Jan. 6, 2021,” he said.
He also said the Capitol Police unit responsible for preparing for civil disturbances was poorly prepared due to flawed operational planning procedures.
“[The Civil Disturbance Unit] was operating at a decreased level of readiness because of a lack of standards for equipment, deficiencies noted from the events of Jan. 6, 2021, a lapse in certain certifications, an inaccurate CDU roster, staffing concerns for the unit, a lack of properly performed quarterly audits, and property inventories not in compliance with guidance,” Bolton said.
Those were among the deficiencies that led the Civil Disturbance Unit to offer a threat analysis, dated Jan. 5, that stated, “At this time there are no specific known threats related to the Joint Session of Congress – Electoral College Vote Certification.”
Bolton has already drafted two “flash reports” on his investigation into Capitol Police, the most recent of which was obtained by the Associated Press. The report details faulty equipment, including protective shields that shattered upon impact, weapons too old to use, and a missed piece of intelligence that rioters warned, “We get our president or we die.”
On March 29, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler wrote a letter to the Capitol Police Board expressing frustration about its lack of transparency about the Jan. 6 riot and requested that it make public the final report by Bolton.
When asked about Bolton’s Thursday testimony, Capitol Police pointed the Washington Examiner to a Wednesday statement responding to Bolton’s report that was obtained by the Associated Press. The statement said, “Before January 6, the Department was working diligently to replace aging equipment, though these efforts were stymied by manufacturing and shipping constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The Department fully agrees with many of the recommendations it has received from the OIG and Task Force 1-6 to date. It is important to note that nearly all of the recommendations require significant resources the Department does not have,” the statement also said.
The Washington, D.C., medical examiner recently released the causes and manners of death of four of the people whose deaths were connected to the Jan. 6 riot. Both 55-year-old Kevin Greeson and 50-year-old Benjamin Phillips were found to have died due to a heart problem. Rosanne Boyland died from “acute amphetamine intoxication.” Her death was deemed “accidental.”
Ashli Babbitt, who breached the Capitol and was shot by a Capitol Police officer, was deemed to have died by homicide. The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it will not pursue charges against the officer, determining there was “insufficient evidence” to support a criminal prosecution.
The medical examiner did not release the cause and manner of death of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who died on the day after the riot.
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The Washington Examiner reached out to the inspector general’s office for a copy of the report but was unable to immediately reach anyone.
