(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) of the Capitol Police is investigating the discharge of a US Capitol Policeman (USCP) weapon inside a Cannon Office Building break room. While OPR examines the event, the officer has been suspended.
The circumstances of the weapon discharge remain unknown. An agency spokeswoman said they couldn’t say much more since the inquiry was still ongoing.
According to a letter from the Capitol Police Board to members and employees acquired by CQ Roll Call, the incident happened one day after contract security personnel began working with USCP on May 2 to fill staffing gaps.
Security contractors are unarmed and dressed in gray dress slacks and a navy blue jacket.
The USCP wouldn’t reveal who the officer was but said they weren’t recruited to cover a labor shortage and couldn’t say much more because the case was still under investigation.
The event, which happened at 8:30 a.m., is the latest in a string of USCP blunders and miscommunications that have harmed public confidence in the agency.
In other USCP news, the US Capitol was evacuated last month after an unidentified jet was observed in a restricted area within seconds.
According to the agency, the single-engine plane was later discovered to be a military fly for Military Appreciation Night at Nationals Park by the Golden Knights Parachute Team.
At about 6:30 p.m., a USCP alarm prompted congressional personnel from the Capitol and legislative complex.
The Federal Aviation Administration was condemned by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said the agency’s apparent failure to alert Capitol Police about the pre-planned flyover at Nationals Stadium is unacceptable and unforgivable.
The FAA said it was looking into the communication problem.
The USCP stated that hundreds of approved flights in restricted airspace are reported to the USCP every week. Not being informed of a flight in advance is exceedingly rare. Our officers followed USCP standards and escorted everyone out of the Capitol. Every second counts.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) said that his office was one of several GOP offices that had been illegally raided and searched by Capitol Police personnel.
On Feb. 9, Nehls said on Twitter that on November 20, 2021, Capitol Police invaded his office without his knowledge and photographed private legislative materials protected by the Constitution’s Speech and Debate provision, Article 1 Section 6.
Two days later, while he was still in the House, three intelligence officials masquerading as construction workers allegedly broke into his office and questioned a colleague about the contents of a photograph obtained unlawfully two days previously.
The USCP has also come under fire for its preparations for the Capitol breach on January 6, 2021, which some have dubbed an “insurgency.”
According to QC Roll Call, Michael Bolton, the now-retired USCP inspector general who examined the agency’s reaction to the Capitol breach, the agency failed to disclose essential information gained from outside sources regarding the events’ preparations.
