Capitol police ‘probably 400 officers down’ as Jan 6th riot anniversary looms: report

As the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol looms over America, Capitol Police are warning of increased threats and overburdened officers.

"...while leaders feel readier today than they did on Jan. 5, no one is rushing to declare the threat has passed," POLITICO reported.

“The last thing that I want to do is say, ‘this could never happen again’ and have it sound like a challenge to those people,” Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told POLITICO. Manger took over the department in August after his predecessor's ouster following the siege. “I’m not trying to be overconfident. We are much better prepared.”

The U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6 resulted in upward of 150 police officers wounded and four rioters dead. Additionally, several officers died by suicide following the riots and another officer succumbed to a stroke.

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POLITICO reported that "Capitol Police officers remain overtaxed and exhausted, logging crushing amounts of overtime as they grapple with a depleted force. Threats against members of Congress are still spiking. A Sept. 18 rally to support certain insurrectionists drew an overwhelming police presence that dwarfed the smattering of demonstrators, raising questions about an overcorrection and quality of intelligence."

Manger revealed that 135 officers have retired or resigned since the Jan. 6 riots. The force is “probably 400 officers down from where we should be.”

“My concern about the Capitol Police is that we're making them work too hard and too long,” Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, the top Republican on the Senate committee that oversees Capitol security, told reporters recently. “And we need to figure out a way to shift some of those responsibilities ... or to figure out a way to recruit more people.”