Time: Accusations of Bias, Racism Swirl Around Capitol Police After Mob Attack

By Kimberly Dozier and Melissa Chan

    When there are Black protestors, police have fired rubber bullets and beat people up. But when far-right extremists stormed the Capitol, they were completely unprepared.

“Both peaceful protest and civil unrest have lapped at the Capitol steps repeatedly over the decades, including three separate bombs set by various militant agitators. But not since British troops nearly burned the building to the ground in 1814 has it been so comprehensively violated as on Wednesday, when President Donald Trump exhorted an angry mob to march from the White House Ellipse down Constitution Ave. to the seat of U.S. legislative power.”

    This was partly due to the complexity of the forces that secure the Capitol. The Capitol Police are supposed to do this, but there is also the D.C. Metro Police, which is not allowed onto Capitol grounds without consent from the Capitol Police, and the D.C. National Guard, which can only be deployed by the Secretary of the Army. The force of 2,300 has come under much scrutiny after it not only failed to secure the Capitol building but was much more lenient with white, violent protestors than peaceful Black protestors, despite the warning signs.

“The blowback has been swift. Senior lawmakers called for investigations into the failed response, and demanded those responsible be fired. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned Thursday…By that day’s end, the House and Senate Sergeants-at-Arms had agreed to leave too. Papathanasiou said the rank-and-file officers had done their duty, prioritizing ‘lives over property, leading people to safety’; no lawmaker was injured in the melee. Their police union said officers were ‘sickened by the tragic and avoidable events.’”

    Four Trump supporters and a police officer were killed. In demonstrations soon after George Floyd’s death, more than 10,000 protestors were arrested, and many more were beaten and met with military-clad police. In contrast, just 80 people linked to the riot at the Capitol have been arrested so far, and a video was released of an officer leading a woman down the stairs. There have also been fewer police reports.

“More rioters should have been arrested on the spot, says former Washington D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey. But police experts say the agency’s failure to plan, which resulted in severely limited resources, made that impossible. ‘When you’re in that kind of situation, making an arrest is difficult because then that requires you, the officer, to take that person into custody, and that takes you away from the scene,’ says Chuck Wexler…”

     The police severely underestimated the magnitude and anger of the crowd, and in the security breach, electronics and papers were taken from Senate offices, which could end up as a national security threat. The Capitol Police has faced several lawsuits over the years for racism, but it’s difficult to prove because it’s a part of Congress and therefore exempt from a lot of public records.

“On Friday, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators announced their intention to investigate the failure of security on Wednesday at the Capitol. But Dr. Michael K. Fauntroy, who teaches political science at Howard University, says it will take action against those Capitol Police officers who were seen helping or hobnobbing with the rioters — instead of stopping them — to win back the trust of the Black community. ‘Not just firing, but prosecution,’ he says. Then again, Fauntroy says there wasn’t much trust to begin with. ‘I don’t know of any Black person who would be surprised at seeing what they saw, the double standard with which Black people in America live.’”