Over a year after Jan. 6 attack, USCP watchdog says more needed to make Capitol safe

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Congress on Thursday questioned a Capitol Police watchdog about the department's efforts to improve its responsiveness and be more accountable following the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton presented new "flash reports," which have so far produced more than 100 recommendations, to the House administration committee at a hearing on the attack.

In his opening remarks, Bolton said there has been a lot of progress since Jan. 6, 2021, -- but there's still a ways to go.

"Although the [Capitol Police] Department has addressed some of our recommendations and have made security improvements throughout the Capitol complex, much work still needs to be addressed in relation to training, intelligence, cultural change and operational planning," he said.

"Through their collective efforts and skills, we have produced eight flash reports outlining areas of improvement for the department resulting in 104 recommendations. Our last and final flash report is a summary of the status of the recommendations we have made and security improvements that the department has made since Jan. 6, 2021."

Bolton noted in his prepared testimony that the final flash report updates the status of the 104 recommendations made by his office to the Capitol Police force. He told a Senate panel in December that the department hasn't made enough improvements -- and echoed those concerns Thursday.

"Although the department has made several changes to include updating policies and procedures ... [it] still has more work to achieve the goal of making the Capitol complex safe and secure," he said.

"Out of the 200 security enhancements that the department has provided to [my office], only 61 of those items have supporting documentation to support that those enhancements have occurred."

During his testimony, Bolton cited various reasons why the recommendations had not been completed, including a need for additional resources such as manpower or funding and "a few" that Bolton said he and Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger "may not totally agree upon."

File Photo by David Tulis/UPI

Responding to a question from Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., Bolton said that while all the recommendations "are all critical in a sense," the most important outstanding changes include "beefing up our intelligence capabilities, having a solid training services bureau and also a cultural change."

Earlier in his testiomy, Bolton said the required cultural change would see the Capitol Police no longer view itself as a police department but rather a "protective agency."

"Our number one duty and our mission in all training, no matter what it is, is going to be driven by that mission of protection," he said. "And that way what little hours we get in training ... has to be mission-driven specifically."

In the final three flash reports, Bolton's office identified "department-wide command and control deficiencies" related to information sharing, chain-of-command directions, communication, preparedness, training, leadership development, emergency response procedures and law enforcement coordination."

Bolton said his office has also found that a lack of K-9-related training and inadequate hazardous device response may have "hampered the efficiency of the K-9 Unit" during the Jan. 6 attack by radical supporters of former President Donald Trump, who were trying to disrupt certification of Joe Biden as the president-elect.

Several Republican lawmakers on Thursday referenced claims by Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, that Capitol Police entered his office without prior notice, took photos of a whiteboard and then filed a report raising concerns about the contents of the whiteboard.

Manger last week denied the claims saying the officer entered the office because the door had been left open.

"If a member's office is left open and unsecured, without anyone inside the office, USCP officers are directed to document that and secure the office to ensure nobody can wander in and steal or do anything nefarious," Manger said at the time.

Bolton confirmed that an investigation into the incident is being investigated and that he has received "full cooperation."

Rep. Brian Steil, R-Wis., expressed concern that a policy put in place requiring visitors to the Capitol to provide their name to gain access to the building could cause a "chilling effect" that deters people from meeting with their member of Congress.

Expert witness and Demand Progress Education Fund Policy Director Daniel Schuman, said that such a chilling effect could result from that policy but noted that there are other venues for citizens to meet with lawmakers.

In his written testimony, Schuman asserted that Congress "must be secure and it must be open."

"Prior to the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people visited the Capitol each year to engage in advocacy on behalf of the causes in which they believe," he wrote. "The Capitol complex cannot become a green zone where only a select few are allowed to enter. Nor can the model of security employed for the White House be employed within the legislative branch."

Schuman also said one of the problems that may be hindering the department's mission is a conflict of interest between the USCP board and Bolton's office.

"[The] hiring and reporting structure of the Capitol Police Board creates an inherent conflict of interest with respect to the independent operations of the inspector general," he said in his prepared remarks, noting that the inspector general both oversees and reports to the USCP chief.

"The Capitol Police chief, through the board on which he sits, is able to exert some control over the inspector general."

Schuman added that the most direct ways Congress could address the conflict would be to make the inspector general fully independent of the police chief and the board, by removing the USCP chief from the board or abolishing the board altogether.

Further, Schuman said the inspector general is not required to make their evaluations public.

"For all we know, IG Bolton has made the same recommendations time and again concerning the Capitol Police," he said in his eight-page opening statement. "If so, we have no way to know whether the Capitol Police implemented his recommendations."

Under its current structure, Schumer described the Capitol Police Board as "the least accountable transparent body that I have ever run accross in the federal government."

"The problems with the congressional security apparatus do not start or end with January 6th. The leadership structure of the Capitol Police ... make virtually certain that we will be unready to address grave threats to the continuity of Congress in the days months, and years ahead."