According to the department, thirty-five Capitol police officers are being investigated – including six who were suspended with pay – for their actions in the deadly siege in January.
Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman has indicated that any officer whose actions were found unacceptable on January 6 will be disciplined, a department spokeswoman said in a statement to WTTG on Thursday.
“Our office for professional responsibility is investigating the actions of 35 police officers from that day. We have currently suspended six of the officers with payment, ”reads the statement.
Some Capitol police officers were caught on video when they saw the rioters enter Capitol Hill without taking any action.
In one video posted on YouTube, Capitol Police Lieutenant Tarik Khalid Johnson can be seen wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat while chatting with several supporters of former President Trump.
Johnson – who has since been expelled from the department – puts on the cap to gain the protesters’ trust so they can get him through the crowd and get inside the building so he can rescue his fellow officers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
At one point in the video, Johnson, 45, handed his megaphone to one of the protesters and said, “I will follow you.”
The Justice Department has charged more than 250 people for storming the Capitol during a brutal attack in which five people were killed, including Capitol police veteran Brian Sicknick.
As a result, Trump was charged a second time for inciting the uprising at the Capitol, but the Senate could not convict him.