US Capitol Police still ‘400 officers short’ as staffing remains ‘critical’ issue a year after Jan. 6: chief

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger on Sunday said the agency has addressed and fixed several issues in the year following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but the one “critical” issue that has yet to be resolved is the staffing shortage it still faces after a surge of retirements and resignations in the wake of the breach.

Manger, who assumed command of the agency in July, appeared on “Fox News Sunday” to address the changes that have been made to security on Capitol Hill since Jan. 6, and what challenges remain.

“The one thing that we have not been able to fix, so to speak, are the staffing issues and we’ve lost over 130 officers that have left through either retirements or resignations after January 6,” Manger said.

The chief also said that the COVID-19 pandemic also shut down the National Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy for 10 months in 2020, essentially putting a pause on new recruits.

“Between not being able to put any academy classes through the prior year, with the attrition, the way it’s been over the past year, we’re now really about 400 officers short of where we need to be and that’s a pretty critical issue for us,” Manger said. – READ MORE