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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
A year after the darkest day for Capitol Police, its new chief focuses on rebuilding
It was shortly before 8 a.m. on a busy December day.
The Capitol was gearing up for President Biden, Vice2 President Harris and lawmakers to take part in the Dec. 9 lying-in-state ceremony for the late Republican Kansas senator and presidential nominee3 Bob Dole4. Both chambers5 of Congress would also meet in session that day.
And someone got past security with a gun.
A line of about five deep went through the magnetometer screening at the Longworth House Office Building. A first officer missed an image on the X-ray machine: a firearm in a bag.
"It was human error," U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told NPR.
When the line finished, Manger said a second officer at the checkpoint asked to review the film: "Can we go back? I thought I saw something."
They caught an image of a gun.
That spurred a frantic6 hunt: a lockdown, a video review of the security line, a description of an individual of interest and a search. Manger said that 12 minutes later, police spotted7 the man seen earlier in the line trying to leave the Capitol with a bag. And inside it, they found a gun.
It was a new reminder8 for the U.S. Capitol Police that despite major improvements since Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob ransacked9 the Capitol, the force still faces a long road to address overall security concerns.
"The bottom line is it shouldn't have happened," Manger, who came on the job less than six months ago, said of the incident. "No one has to convince anybody — me or any of the officers here — how critical it is that we not make those kinds of mistakes."
Manger will cover that message and more when he testifies before Congress for the first time later this week.
Leading a troubled department and expanding resources
A gun getting past security was just one of many tests the Capitol Police have faced since their darkest day — Jan. 6. The riot led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, left more than 80 injured, and resulted in dozens of resignations.
In all, more than 130 officers have quit since the attack, some in response to the riot or in the form of retirements10 or in search of better jobs, Manger said. And of the injured, the agency said just "a few" remain on medical leave.
"My biggest concern is getting our staffing up," Manger said in an interview from the department's modest headquarter building tucked near the Senate side of the Capitol campus.
Manger was the agency's own key hire as his predecessor11 faced intense criticism in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack. Ex-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned the day after the attack. Weeks later, the acting12 police chief, Yogananda Pittman, faced a vote of no confidence from the union.
Manger, the retired13 Montgomery County, Md., police chief, took over the helm in late July after a nationwide search and as the department was on the verge14 of running out of money.
Capitol Police faced a dramatic budget shortfall after the attack. In July, Biden signed a supplemental security funding measure into law that directed more than $100 million to the agency.
Now, Manger is looking to hire 280 new officers in 2022 and eventually get to an overall police force total to more than 2,000.
"We only had about 1,800 or so police officers, and we figured we could make up the rest through overtime15. That's not going to work anymore with the demands that we have," Manger explained.
Capitol Police saw more than 9,000 threats in 2021 against members, more than double the number of cases recorded just five years ago. The police logged fewer than 4,000 such reports in 2017.
The department has opened its first two field offices in California and Florida in the last two months, each staffed with two investigators16 and an attorney. While the plan was in place before the riot, it was ramped17 up in the face of growing security threats against lawmakers.
Capitol Police also hired 22-year Secret Service veteran Wesley Schwark to help coordinate18 major security events for the department. And they also beefed up intelligence operations with eight analysts19 to help gather, analyze20 and share intelligence within its ranks and with its law enforcement partners — a key failure for police on Jan. 6.
Manger said they've also addressed staffing, equipment and training shortages for their Civil Disturbance21 Unit, or riot-control division, which faced heated concerns after Jan. 6. That unit fought short-handed and without much of their needed equipment that day.
That, combined with similar units at partner law enforcement agencies, have put the force in a much better position today, he argued.
"Now ... with a phone call, we can get hundreds, hundreds of those trained Civil Disturbance Units here at the Capitol," Manger said.
Addressing trauma22 for officers
The past year brought new levels of trauma for officers, who are still recovering from Jan. 6 battle scenes and the loss of several of their own, including 12-year veteran Brian Sicknick, who fought the rioters, and several officers from the Capitol and D.C. police who died by suicide.
And in April, Officer William "Billy" Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force, was also killed in an attack at a Capitol checkpoint near the Senate.
The agency is ramping23 up new programs to help police deal with all the trauma. And they are now working with the Architect of the Capitol to install a new wellness center for officers near the Capitol complex. The plan was already in the works before Jan. 6 but was fast-tracked as a result.
The concerns go hand in hand with addressing issues of low morale24 for the agency, which has been plagued with distrust between rank-and-file and top leaders. Manger said one of his first steps in the job was to ensure more face time with officers, and improving communication and transparency.
As a result, Manger said he attends many of the force's daily briefings and walks the campus frequently to talk to officers.
"One of the biggest things that I wanted to accomplish early on — and continue to want to accomplish — is to ensure that the officers know that this department cares about them, that the leadership cares about them," he said. "We're not going to let them down in the future the way they felt let down on Jan. 6."
But, Manger conceded, some morale concerns may have to wait until staffing levels are ultimately addressed.
"Because of our staffing levels," Manger said, "we're going to have issues with morale."
New security tests
Even as the pandemic has kept the Capitol largely closed to the public, police have faced a series of tests this past year.
That includes a Sept. 18 "Justice for J6" rally, when far-right extremists said they would demonstrate for those charged in the January riot. The large-scale response, however, saw much fewer participants than expected.
Still, Manger said the rally was a good illustration of how far the agency has come preparing for another major emergency — should one arise.
"To have those kinds of things in place just gives me great confidence that moving forward, if all of a sudden we find out we're going to have a big event, we've got everything we need to to be able to adequately address whatever happens," Manger said.
Capitol Police came under intense scrutiny25 following Jan. 6, facing a firestorm of reports and recommendations from several congressional groups and the agency's watchdog. Among the recurring26 themes: Capitol Police needed to pivot27 from a reactionary28 to a protective posture29.
By early December, Capitol Police Inspector30 General Michael Bolton said they had issued 104 recommendations for the force, but only 30 had been addressed. Capitol Police said that's since grown to 34, with written plans for another 60.
"Although the department has addressed some of our recommendations — and have made security improvements throughout the Capitol complex — much work still needs to be addressed in relation to training, intelligence, cultural change and operational planning," Bolton told the Senate Rules Committee during a Dec. 7 hearing.
Among the lingering concerns, Bolton highlighted the need for more Capitol Police officers to obtain security clearances31.
"We know there's a lot more work to be done, and that is why we're going to be calling the chief before the committee," said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Democrat32 who chairs the Senate Rules Committee.
On Wednesday, Manger will testify before the committee on the force's progress to address security failures. He is expected to say the Capitol Police have bulked up their intelligence sharing and resources, ramped-up equipment deficiencies and boosted communications and transparency.
In December, Biden also signed Klobuchar's bipartisan bill into law that allows the chief to ask the National Guard for backup during emergencies. It addressed a key roadblock exposed during the riot: Previously33, the police chief had to request Capitol Police board approval for the move in the past. That led to an hours-long delay on Jan. 6.
Despite the trauma and the criticism the department has faced this past year, Manger remains34 optimistic.
"We're so much better prepared than we were a year ago," Manger said.
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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nominee
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| n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者 | |
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dole
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| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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retirements
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| 退休( retirement的名词复数 )； 退职； 退役； 退休的实例 | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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overtime
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| adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地 | |
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investigators
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| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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ramped
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| 土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯 | |
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coordinate
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| adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调 | |
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analysts
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| 分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 ) | |
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analyze
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| vt.分析，解析 (=analyse) | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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trauma
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| n.外伤，精神创伤 | |
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ramping
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| 土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯 | |
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morale
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| n.道德准则，士气，斗志 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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recurring
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| adj.往复的，再次发生的 | |
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pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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reactionary
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| n.反动者，反动主义者；adj.反动的，反动主义的，反对改革的 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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clearances
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| 清除( clearance的名词复数 )； 许可； （录用或准许接触机密以前的）审查许可； 净空 | |
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democrat
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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