Former Head Of NYPD Calls For 9/11 Style Investigation Into Capitol Riot
Former New York City Police (NYPD) Commissioner Bill Bratton has called for a commission to investigate the recent riot at the Capitol building.
Five people died in the chaos that ensued after pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building on January 6, in an attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election. Police officer Brian Sicknick was among those who died, with his death now the focus of a federal murder investigation.
Bratton, who served as commissioner from 1994 to 1996 and from 2014 to 2016, said it was ‘quite clear’ that members of law enforcement were unprepared for the attack on Capitol, asserting that there had been ‘a colossal failure to collaborate and coordinate’, and urged for a commission similar to the one that investigated the September 11, 2001, attacks, The Hill reports.
Speaking with John Catsimatidis of WABC 770 AM, during an interview which aired Sunday, January 10, Bratton said:
The Capitol Police clearly underestimated what the event was going to be, the nature of the crowd, and made no plans to collaborate, cooperate, seek additional assistance until after the crowd showed up on their front doorstep. And then it was too late.
He added: ‘I cannot believe that it happened in Washington because they’ve done this for 50 years. They know how to deal with these demonstrations […] They decided to go low-key on this. And that’s going to be part of the investigation. Why did they low-key it? Why were the officers not in riot gear? Why were there not more of them?’
a year agoMembers of the mob had been able to push past law enforcement and into the building, with some even posing for photographs on the Senate floor and in the office of House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Bratton said:
The Capital Police and other agencies that gather intelligence did a very poor job of understanding what that intelligence should have made them aware of — that there was a potential for exactly what happened.
Unbelievable as it seems, the unbelievable happened. There was a colossal failure to collaborate and coordinate.
Many rioters had shared unfounded voter fraud claims over the last couple of months, according to AP News. Some had even threatened violence against both Democrats and Republicans who they believed had been disloyal to Trump.
So far, at least 90 people have been arrested on various charges in relation to to curfew violations, assaults against police officers, possessing illegal weapons and making violent threats against Pelosi.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Topics: News, 9/11, Capitol riot, investigation, Now, NYPD, Police, US, washington
Credits
WABC 770 AM and 2 othersWABC 770 AM
Associated Press
The Hill
Former NYPD head calls for 9/11-style commission to investigate Capitol riot
