Norton Calls on Capitol Police to Better Communicate with Nearby Residents
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent a letter today urging the U.S. Capitol Police to share the alerts sent to congressional employees about police activity on and threats to the Capitol complex with members of the surrounding community. If sharing those alerts raises security or technological concerns, Norton urged the Capitol Police to create an alternative mechanism for sharing such information with the surrounding community.
"When the insurrection took place on January 6, 2021, we saw a completely unacceptable breakdown in communication between the Capitol Police and the surrounding community," Norton said. "These communications are all the more essential in a crisis. Residents should be getting urgent information and directions for their safety from law enforcement, not from the news."
The full text of the letter follows:
January 28, 2021
Yogananda D. Pittman
Acting Chief of Police
United States Capitol Police
119 D Street, NE
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Acting Chief Pittman:
My constituents who live near the U.S. Capitol complex, which is within a residential neighborhood, have expressed concern that the U.S. Capitol Police does not provide the surrounding community with information regarding police activity on and threats to the complex. The Capitol Police emails regular alerts to congressional employees on such matters. Given that thousands of employees receive such alerts, there would seem to be no reason that members of the surrounding community should not receive such alerts. However, if there are security or technological reasons members of the surrounding community should not or cannot receive such alerts, I urge you to create a mechanism for sharing information with the surrounding community on police activity and threats.
There are many security lessons to be learned from the insurrection that took place on January 6th. As we continue to assess and understand what happened and how it happened, it is important that that assessment include the risk posed to and impact sustained by the surrounding community. One of the factors contributing to the risk was a clearly revealed communication breakdown with the surrounding community—communications that are all the more essential in a crisis. I understand that during the attack, the surrounding community did not receive any information from the Capitol Police. Residents just paces away from the Capitol complex received no clear direction from the Capitol Police on whether they should leave the area or stay in their homes.
This is completely unacceptable. I understand that the Capitol Police's primary responsibility is the protection of the Capitol complex, but the Capitol Police also has concurrent jurisdiction with the Metropolitan Police Department in the surrounding community. Extremism is only growing in our country, and after the attack on January 6th, the Capitol complex is likely to remain a focal point for extremists.
I request a written response by February 9, 2021.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Holmes Norton