Capitol Police response to officers’ calls for help on Jan. 6 inadequate: watchdog

U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) was not able to assist officers who called for help on Jan. 6 in part because its emergency system did not simulcast on police radio when individual officers pressed emergency activation buttons on their handsets, according to a watchdog’s report obtained by The Associated Press.

The agency’s Office of the Inspector General found that when an officer activated panic buttons designed to signal an emergency on their radios, those responses were not distributed to other officers within the agency in most cases, the AP reported. 

“Without the ability to connect with help or request reinforcements during emergencies, officers are at risk of facing dangerous or even deadly situations,” the inspector general’s report said, according to the AP. “Without being aware of an officer’s emergency, the Department does not dispatch additional units or resources for an officer in distress. And if the on-duty Watch Commander is not notified of emergency identifier activations, they cannot respond to a situation.”

A law enforcement official also told the AP that the volume of calls on Jan. 6 hampered officers’ ability to respond to their colleagues, adding that emergency responses had to be prioritized as a result.

In a statement, Capitol Police said that “the Department’s policies and procedures are being updated and a comprehensive training plan is being developed, to include FEMA courses and proficiency validations, which were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“The USCP has acknowledged there were communication gaps on January 6. Given the events of January 6th, the enormous amount of radio traffic that day was not surprising. Additionally, the size and magnitude of January 6 made it difficult to respond to each officer’s emergency radio broadcast in real-time,” the statement added. 

Capitol Police also said that officers used cellphones during Jan. 6 to limit radio traffic.  

The Hill has reached out to Capitol Police’s Office of the Inspector General for comment. The office is looking at how Capitol Police could have been better prepared in the events leading up to and on the day of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Its fifth “flash report,” a copy of which was obtained by the AP, focused on the Capitol Police Command and Coordination Bureau, which coordinates emergency responses at the Capitol and special event preparedness.