More than 70 Capitol police officers have retired from service after the January riots in Washington, which ended in the invasion of the US Congress building by supporters of ex-President Donald Trump.
This was stated by the chairman of the Capitol Police Labor Committee (the official name of the Capitol union. -
RT
) Gus Papatanasiou.
According to the head of the union, the cases of retirement and retirement reflect the low morale in the ranks of the capitol police after the events of January 6, as a result of which 140 law enforcement officers were injured.
According to Papatanasiu, 233 full-time jobs out of 2070 are currently vacant in the organization.
“I am deprived of sleep by the difficulties associated not with the recruitment and training of additional employees, but with the retention of those who work for us at the moment,” - quotes the words of Papatanasiu edition USA TODAY.
Journalists remind that in addition to the police officers who received various injuries, the next day after the riots, one of the officers died of a stroke, and a few days later two police officers committed suicide.
In addition, in early April, another law enforcement officer was killed in an incident when an attacker rammed a barricade and a checkpoint near the Capitol in a car, after which he attacked the police with a knife.
“Many of our employees are considering whether they should stay in this department.
In the next few years, almost a quarter of our police officers may retire, ”Papatanasiu said.
American coup
Recall that the events of January 6 in Washington were provoked by the disagreement of Donald Trump's supporters with the results of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.
On that day, the US Congress was to hold a meeting at the Capitol under the direction of Vice President Mike Pence - to certify the electoral college votes and approve Biden's victory.
January 6 riots in Washington
© REUTERS / Stephanie Keith
Trump supporters gathered at a rally to express their displeasure with the 45th President's defeat.
Trump made a speech in front of the audience, in which he once again called the results of the vote rigged.
After Trump's speech, his followers surrounded the Capitol building and clashed with police, who responded with tear gas.
However, Trump supporters were able to break into the Capitol: they occupied the Senate Hall and several offices, including the workplace of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
As a result, the congressional meeting was adjourned, Vice President Pence and lawmakers were evacuated.
To the gallery page
This incident was perceived extremely painfully by the Democratic Party and the American media.
Joe Biden himself called January 6 one of the "darkest days" in US history.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, began to search and arrest the participants in the storming of the Capitol, and the National Guard was sent to Washington to guard the city during Biden's inauguration.
In total, in the case of illegal invasion of the Capitol, the US Department of Justice has brought charges against more than 440 detainees.
On May 18, the White House announced that Joe Biden supports the idea of forming a special congressional commission to investigate the circumstances of the events of January 6.
The next day, the House of Representatives voted in favor of a plan to create a commission similar to the one that investigated the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Individual police protection
Democratic congressmen argue that after the January riots, the threat to their security from Americans dissatisfied with the election results has increased significantly.
Thus, the representative of the Democratic Party from Texas Veronica Escobar (during the siege of the Capitol, she was in the House of Representatives) said that she noticed a sharp increase in the number of people who "stick to Congressmen ... insisting that the elections were stolen", as well as growth " amazing readiness to act, regardless of the boundaries of what is permitted, civilization and professionalism. "
In this regard, on May 20, the House of Representatives passed a law on the emergency allocation of $ 1.9 billion to strengthen the security measures of the Capitol complex.
At the same time, NBC News notes that the document on the allocation of additional funds was adopted by the Democrats in the House of Representatives with a minimal majority of votes: 213 for and 212 against, since not a single Republican voted in support of it.
According to journalists, $ 529 million of these funds will be allocated for the installation of new surveillance cameras around the parliament and the surrounding office buildings, replacement of windows, doors and checkpoints in the lobbies.
Another $ 18 million will be spent on equipping Capitol police officers with body-worn video cameras, riot control equipment and training personnel, NBC News reports.
For Capitol Police officers, the bill provides for continued work allowances, risk surcharges, and victim assistance.
However, the chairman of the labor committee of the Capitol Police, Gus Papatanasiou, noted that the bill does not include one of the most important clauses for police officers on taking into account overwork when determining the date of a possible retirement.
“This may not seem important, but it can still significantly affect the terms of pension payments.
Lack of equality is what strongly discourages police officers from continuing to serve, ”said the head of the union.
In a conversation with RT, American experts noted the paradox of the situation: in the summer of 2020, Democrats supported participants in the Black Lives Matter movement in major US cities, which resulted in riots, pogroms and clashes with the police, and also called for a reduction in funding for security officials.
Now that they feel in danger, the Democrats are in a hurry to vote to provide additional funds for the police.
© REUTERS / Eduardo Munoz
“In this case, the Democratic Party itself made a significant contribution to this confrontation and contributed to the creation of a situation in which American politicians feel unsafe,” recalled Yuri Rogulev, director of the Franklin Roosevelt US Research Foundation at Moscow State University.
Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that a tense atmosphere still remains in the United States, which could result in new unrest.
“Under Biden, little has changed so far, although he positions himself as the“ unifier ”of the United States.
Democrats supported Black Lives Matter to strike at the Trump government and come to power themselves.
Now supporters of the ex-president tried to prevent them, the balance of power is changing, "said the interlocutor of RT.
In turn, political analyst Alexander Asafov believes that the Democratic Party took advantage of the January 6 riots to demonize Trump's supporters and equate them with terrorists.
“Statements about the threat are necessary in order to continue creating a negative image of the Trumpists and reactionaries on the media agenda, who allegedly threaten the American system of state power,” said Alexander Asafov.
At the same time, the allocation of additional funding to the Capitol Police, a separate federal security agency, does not mean that the US Democratic Party will abandon its rhetoric about the need to cut funds for other police departments, the expert said.
“Judging by the law enforcement reform that is taking place in the United States, ordinary police officers will not get anything. Now more attention is paid to special forces, and ordinary police are directly and indirectly discriminated against, as Biden continues to show solidarity with those activists who participated in the riots in 2020, ”Asafov concluded.