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NYPD Investigating At Least One Cop Who May Have Participated In Capitol Insurrection
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 11, 2021
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JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 11, 2021
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At least one member of the NYPD is under investigation for possible participation in last week's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Appearing on NY1 on Monday morning, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea revealed that there was an "investigation active on one member" of the police department who may have joined the pro-Trump riots.
"There is no name yet released because we don’t know if it’s true or not," Shea said. "I can tell you that anyone committing crimes certainly would have a very short shelf life with the NYPD."
The NYPD did not respond to follow up questions about the person's potential role in Wednesday's attack, which left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer. A second Capitol Police officer who responded to the attack died by suicide on Saturday.
On Sunday, the FDNY announced that they were providing information to the FBI about members who may have participated in the attack. An MTA worker was also suspended on Friday after photos showed him inside the Capitol building following the breach.
In the fallout of Wednesday's insurrection, several law enforcement officials from across the country have been identified as participating or supporting the far-right mob. Politico reported that off-duty police officers and members of the military flashed their badges in the course of overrunning the capitol.
President Donald Trump has maintained broad support among police departments, including the NYPD. The Police Benevolent Association, which represents 24,000 NYPD officers, took the rare step last year of endorsing Trump's re-election campaign.
Ed Mullins, the president of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, which also backed Trump, said he did not support the attacks on the Capitol. "I think he did a good job in office, but I don’t encourage this, and I don’t support this," Mullins told Gothamist last week.
Commissioner Shea also condemned the attack on Monday, his first public appearance since being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week. He added that the NYPD would send some of its officers to Washington D.C. to help police the capitol on Inauguration Day.
"Like everyone else I was disgusted with what I saw," Shea said. "That’s our country there on full display. Hopefully we never see anything like that ever again."
Update 11:20 a.m.: At a press conference Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that any city employee who participated in the attack on the Capitol would be fired.
"If we have proof that someone violently attacked our United States government, they will not be working for New York City any longer," he said.
Asked whether he thought there was a larger problem of right-wing extremism within law enforcement, the mayor demurred, arguing that the "vast majority of police leaders and police officers" did not support the insurrection.
"There are some officers clearly around the country that unfortunately believe this kind of racist ideology," he added. "They should not be police officers, period."
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Capitol Building
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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