On Friday, 25-year-old Noah Green rammed his car into two Capitol Police officers at an entry point outside the Capitol building, subsequently killing one police officer and injuring another. Eventually, the perpetrator was shot and killed.
The head of the Capitol Police union has pushed Congress to step up security in the wake of the second deadly Capitol attack this year, warning that many officers are looking to retire soon, CNN reported.
According to Gus Papathanasiou, chairman of the US Capitol Police Labor Committee, the department is 233 officers short of its approved level of more than 2,000 officers.
According to the report, Papathanasiou said that after losing several officers this year, the department is in disarray. Officer William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the police and a member of the “First Responders Unit,” died after Friday's assault, while the officer who was wounded on Friday, Kenny Shaver, has reportedly been released from the hospital.
The union chair added that Evans was “well respected within the department and his loss will not be forgotten.”
Another officer who passed away this year was Brian Sicknick, who died as a result of injuries sustained during the riot on January 6. And a second Capitol Police officer committed suicide a few weeks later.
Papathanasiou urged Congress to put into motion the recommendations made by a task force investigating the Jan. 6 riot, which was headed by retired Army Lt. Gen….