Two Black Capitol Police officers said their chief and upper management was nowhere to be found during the attack on the Capitol.
One Black veteran police officer said that the first news he received that morning was not from his superiors, but from a screenshot from Instagram sent to him from a friend.
I found out what they were planning when a friend of mine screenshot me an Instagram story from the Proud Boys saying, ‘We’re breaching the capitol today, guys. I hope y’all ready.’
The officer said that upper management told them to prepare for Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol like they would for any other protest, but he could tell from the Instagram message that it was going to be a fight.
Both police officers stated they were constantly called the n-word as they tried to fight off a mob that their superiors downplayed.
Below is a video of one of their Black colleagues trying to stop the mob from advancing from the first floor to the second floor of the Capitol building.
The veteran officer, who has been with the department for more than 10 years, said they fought off the insurgents for more than two hours before they gained access. He also said the images of smiling rioters in absurd costumes don’t tell the true story of how well prepared some of the insurgents were to take over the building , and even capture or kill Congress members.
That was a heavily trained group of militia terrorists that attacked us. They had radios, we found them, they had two-way communicators and earpieces. They had bear spray. They had flash bangs …They were prepared. They strategically put two IEDs, pipe bombs in two different locations. These guys were military trained. A lot of them were former military.
The officer said he even encountered police officers in the mob that had the nerve to flash their badges telling him to let them through, and saying that this was all a part of a movement that is supposed to help.
You have the nerve to be holding a blue lives matter flag, and you are out there f****** us up. One guy pulled out his badge and he said, ‘we’re doing this for you.’ Another guy had his badge. So I was like, ‘well, you gotta be kidding.’
Another Black officer, a newer recruit, said he was in hand-to-hand combat on the steps to the rotunda on the east side of the Capitol, trying to fight off rioters. He said they were outnumbered 10-1, and some rioters were holding Blue Lives Matters flags and launching themselves at police officers.
We were telling them to back up and get away and stop, and they’re telling us, they are on our side, and they’re doing this for us, and they’re saying this as I’m getting punched in my face by one of them … That happened to a lot of us. We were getting pepper sprayed in the face by those protesters, I’m not going to even call them protestors, by those domestic terrorists.
He said it was a hard day for almost all officers but it was particular hard for Black officers. He also contrasted how the police handled the Black Lives Matter protests this past summer.
There’s quite a big difference when the Black Lives Matter protests come up to the capitol. On Wednesday, some officers were catering to the rioters.
He said he was upset the most by images he later saw of a white colleague taking a selfie with the insurgents and seeming to enjoy his time with them as they roamed the US Capitol with confederate flags and other symbols of white supremacy.
That one hurt me the most because I was on the other side of the Capitol getting my a** kicked.
He expressed his frustration with the way the Capitol Mob was handled in contrast to the Black Lives Matter protesters.
If you’re going to treat a group of demonstrators for Black Lives Matters one way, then you should treat this group the same god damn way. With this group you were being kind and nice and letting them walk back out. Some of them got arrested but a lot of them didn’t. Everyone who came into that Capitol should have been arrested regardless if they didn’t take anything.
The veteran Black officer believes the problem is how the agency is managed.
Our chief was nowhere to be found, I didn’t hear him on the radio. One of our other deputy chiefs was not there. You don’t think it’s all hands on deck?
Congress can bring anybody in the building that they want. They can go outside and find 200 people, and say hey, they’re with me. Come on in. They don’t have to go through security as long as a Congressman said so. They just want to make Congress happy. So I think the next chief needs to come in and sit down with Congress.
The US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned shortly after the attack.
After the rioters dispersed and Congress got back to certifying President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory, the veteran officer was very emotional and he broke down in the rotunda, screaming at times for everyone to hear.
I sat down with one of my buddies, another Black guy, and tears just started streaming down my face. I said, ‘what the f***, man? Is this America? What the f*** just happened? I’m so sick and tired of this s***.
These are racist a** terrorists!
I got called a nigger 15 times today!
Trump did this and we got all of these f****** people in our department that voted for him. How the f*** can you support him?
I cried for about 15 minutes and I just let it out.
Wow! I think this officer may need to seek some counseling after going through all that mental and physical trauma.
The officers asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from their superiors.
Source: Buzz Feed
