Violence of Capital Riots could be repeated again, warns police chief

The police officer responsible for security at the United States Capitol during the protests in January 2021 has warned that the violence could be repeated.

Speaking to Sky News on the second anniversary of a day which shocked the nation, Chief Steven Sund said: “My concern is the failures, the security failures in themselves, that occurred on January 6th could result in another attack, whether it’s domestic, whether it’s foreign.

“We missed all the signals that should have told us this was coming. The security structure failed miserably.”

Mr Sund resigned in the hours after the protests. Five of his officers died and 140 were seriously injured in the violence.

As head of the police force with jurisdiction over Capitol Hill, he was criticised for his failings.

Two years on, he says intelligence failures, from within his department and beyond it, coupled with his own rejected requests for back-up, made his job impossible.

“Intelligence was a disaster. We now know that significant intelligence existed, saying people were coordinating an attack on the Capitol, that didn’t get into the right hands. I found out about that after January 6th.”

“There has to be lessons learned from January 6th that apply to a future event,” he said.

Mr Sund insisted he did not want to be drawn on the political divisions exposed by the events of January 6th but did offer one pointed remark.

“We’re a very divided country right now and I blame politicians on both sides. The rhetoric, the lack of being able to just work with your fellow politician just sets a standard that Americans are just mimicking.

“They need to grow up and act like adults.”

‘My most visceral memory was…I look up and see this crowd of hundreds coming’

Reflecting on the events of that January afternoon, Mr Sund said: ‘It was a tough, tough, dark day. My most visceral memory was 12:53 p.m. when I was in the command centre… and somebody yells ‘there’s a large crowd approaching our West front’. And I look up and I see this crowd of hundreds coming across Garfield Circle and then another crowd coming across Peace Circle, approaching our line of officers right there at the walkways.”

He continued: “What struck me was just how quickly those crowds turned violent with my officers on those barricades, lashing out at them, pulling at the barricades, pulling the officers down and starting to punch at the officers. I’ve never seen that type of response in my life. It was extremely violent and I felt like I had a shock go through my body that sometimes I still feel today.”

Describing his request for back-up, he says: “While we’re under attack, I go and ask for National Guard and faced a 71 minute delay while the Capitol Police board, the two Sergeants at Arms, discussed making a decision….”

“Then I have to wait three-and-a-half hours for the National Guard to arrive because the Pentagon, just like the Sergeant at Arms, doesn’t like the look of National Guard troops at the Capitol…..” he says.

“So they delay and delay and delay. We had 150 National Guard troops deployed on the streets of Washington DC, with all the riot gear, and they wouldn’t move them the half mile to two miles to tell me.”

The former police chief expands on his criticism, specifically of the Department of Defense, in his book ‘Courage Under Fire”.

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‘I think about it every day’

Responding to the criticism, Pentagon officials refer to a published timeline detailing military planning on the day.

At the White House, the anniversary of the day was marked with a small ceremony.

President Biden awarded Presidential Citizens Medals to individuals who defended the Capitol and others who the White House credits for ‘courage and selflessness during a moment of peril for our nation’. They included police officers, election workers, as well as officials at the state and local level.

“I miss being a police officer…” Mr Sund said, sitting on the steps outside the Capitol.

“I miss being down here. I love the men and women of the Capitol Police. I think about it… I think about it every day. I don’t know if I’ll ever put on a badge and uniform again, but I do miss it. And it did… it has had a big impact on me, but it had a big impact on every single officer that was down here that day.”

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