Beltway Confidential

Don’t misjudge the Capitol Police line officers

By Tom Rogan
Published January 7, 2021 7:48pm ET
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Don’t misjudge the Capitol Police line officers
Police begin clearing angry protesters from the Capitol building in Washington by using tear gas on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Demonstrators responded by taunting and yelling at law enforcement before retreating from the toxic gas and the officers with riot shields. | (Zachary Halaschak/Washington Examiner)

There are no excuses for the unmitigated failure to secure the Capitol against the riots on Wednesday.

It is mind-boggling that Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund hasn’t yet resigned. Sund and his intelligence chief, Yogananda Pittman, should be fired without delay. More security questions must also be asked of Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and of the Trump administration. Still, we should be cautious before rushing to judge front-line Capitol Police officers. This bears note for two reasons.

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Police and Law Enforcement Protests Riots U.S. Capitol U.S. Capitol Police