Capitol Police watchdog details Jan. 6 shortcomings in congressional leadership division

The U.S. Capitol Police Office of Inspector General has detailed shortcomings with the police division tasked with protecting congressional leadership during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In a statement, the Capitol Police said it is grateful the Inspector General acknowledged that the Dignitary Protection Division’s (DPD) “planning and evacuation of Members of Congress was exceptional” on Jan. 6.

“All of the Congressional protectees under DPD responsibility were safely evacuated,” the Inspector General said, according to the agency.

The report, first obtained by Politico, revealed that the division was down at least a quarter of its staff, did not have necessary ballistic vests and lacked a plan of action on the day of the riot, the outlet reported.

Outside of the division, the report also raised concerns with the department’s command center, and its ability to consistently direct outside law enforcement agencies who responded to the attack.

The report also found that at the height of the attack, 1,214 of the 1,840 total officers were on site, Politico reported. 

But in its response, Capitol Police said it had approximately 1,460 employees on site on Jan. 6, and less than 50 working offsite. Sworn employees who did not work that day were unavailable due to injuries, COVID-19, or family or medical leave.

The agency acknowledged that it did not cancel leave for sworn employees who had already had requests approved months before Jan. 6.

In response to the findings about the DPD, Capitol Police said it “quickly ordered DPD vehicles to safer locations and away from the crowded plaza,” which was a “a critical step in the chain of events that ended with the successful evacuation of Congressional Leaders.”

A Capitol Police spokesperson separately told The Hill that it was inaccurate to say that officers on the dignitary division did not have ballistic vests. 

“Everyone on DPD is issued body armor,” a spokesperson said.

Capitol Police said it is “working diligently to provide agents with the best equipment and training, so they can safely carry out our critical mission.”

“The USCP would welcome additional training staff as well as a larger training facility that would better accommodate the Department’s large size and mission,” the agency continued.

The report is the seventh flash report that the Inspector General has released regarding Capitol Police’s handling of Jan. 6.

The last report, which Capitol Police responded to in early September, addressed the reaction by the agency’s Hazardous Incident Response Division to pipe bombs found outside of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee hours before the attack.