The Capitol Police Had One Mission. Now the Force Is in Crisis.
The department’s performance during the rampage at the Capitol has cast a harsh light on an agency that has been unused to public scrutiny.
Members of the Capitol Police looked through a broken window while Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol last week.Credit.Ahmed Gaber/Reuters
Published Jan. 14, 2021Updated Jan. 20, 2021
As old as the Capitol itself, the Capitol Police began in 1801 with the appointment of a single guard to oversee the move of Congress from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. His task, according to a court filing, was to “take as much care as possible with the property of the United States.”