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‘Somebody dropped the ball’: Former Capitol police officer speaks out on riot

3 years 1 month 4 weeks ago Tuesday, January 19 2021 Jan 19, 2021 January 19, 2021 8:28 AM January 19, 2021 in News - Local

Hours away from the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden, a former Capitol police officer is speaking out against the attack on the Capitol earlier this month. 

Former Capitol Police Officer Raul Salinas says it’s all very different than the people he dealt with when he worked there. 

"Most of them were peaceful,” Salinas said. “There were some that got out-of-hand. I made a few arrests. But never in my life would I have ever thought that the U.S. Capitol, the seat of democracy would be invaded."

Salinas, the former mayor of Laredo, former FBI agent and current security consultant, worked for the Capitol police for five years during the Nixon era. He witnessed the impeachment—and history. Salinas says what happened this month cannot happen again. 

"There's 2,300 Capitol policemen,” Salinas said. “Of course they're not all on duty at the same time, but somebody dropped the ball. Somebody was asleep at the wheel. There was a lack of intelligence, coordination and cooperation. And the exchange of information is so important."

Salinas says the sharing of intelligence will need to be greater for Wednesday’s inauguration. After Jan. 6, Salinas says things will never be the same at the Capitol. 

"I think they will be modified,” said Salinas. “I think maybe they're going to be more heavily armed. I think they're going to have to limit where you go. You know, the access points, the checkpoints. Maybe they'll close some of the entrances. But it's sad, it's sad because the U.S. Capitol is a beautiful place."

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