How the Capitol Insurrection Should Have Been Handled, According to Police Leaders
Current and former police chiefs explain how crowd preparation is supposed to work — and why Wednesday’s ‘Stop the Steal’ riot was such a dismaying contrast.
Rioters broke windows and breached the Capitol building in an attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election.
Photographer: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Among the many questions still lingering after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday: How did rioters get so far? As lawmakers seek to better understand the politics of why the Capitol building was left relatively undefended, critiques of the police response are flooding in from law enforcement officials. Under scrutiny, the chief of the Capitol Police Department, a federal unit that serves the Capitol building and grounds, has resigned; so did the sergeants-at-arms for the House and Senate.
Several current and former police leaders explained to Bloomberg CityLab the logistics of how preparation for a major rally or protest typically works — and why Wednesday’s preparation was such a dismaying contrast to typical practice.