U.S. Capitol Police
(AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

[ED: Remember, only the police and the military have the specialized training and discipline necessary to be entrusted with the responsibility of carrying a gun outside the home.]

By Michael Balsamo, AP

A U.S. Capitol Police officer fired a gun inside a break room in a House office building on Tuesday and was promptly suspended — the latest stain for a police department struggling to regain the public’s trust following the deadly Jan. 6 riot and a recent communications failure that triggered an evacuation of the Capitol.

The agency said the officer discharged the firearm at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Cannon House Office Building and its Office of Professional Responsibility launched an investigation. The officer was suspended as the investigation continues, police said.

The circumstances surrounding the gun discharge were unclear, but no injuries were immediately reported.

Last month, the Capitol Police ordered the evacuation of the Capitol — sending congressional staffers fleeing from office buildings — over a plane that was flying near the complex. It turned out the plane was actually carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights who later parachuted into Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals, for the team’s Military Appreciation Night.

The Federal Aviation Administration later said it failed to notify the Capitol Police in advance about the flight, leading to the evacuation. The episode represented a stunning communications breakdown, all the more remarkable because of Washington’s focus on improving security following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

In December 2021, police initiated a brief lockdown after a congressional staffer walked into a legislative building with a handgun in his bag and was allowed to proceed through the security checkpoint with it. The staffer was located and apprehended minutes later.

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47 COMMENTS

  3. I absolutely hate it when the “incident” on Jan 6 is called a riot. Or an insurrection. It was not. It was a bunch of yahoos that were pissed (and rightfully so) about the fraudulent election and decided to stomp their feet and wave some flags. It got a little out of control when they were ALLOWED in. They did not break in. They then proceeded to really act like a bunch of yahoos. Nobody was armed. Nobody was intimidating anyone. Yet a participant was shot and killed and many arrested. They DID NOT kill 5 police officers. One fat out of shape officer had a freeking heart attack. Four others committed suicide. FOUR suicides. Has anyone researched why ? Did not one leave behind a note ? Anything ? Not one word has been published about these suicides. The participants did not do 1/100th of the damage BLM has done. A bunch of idiots got a bit out of control. Nothing more….. And about those suicides ???? Anyone ???

    • You are correct but the only problem we all have is trying to look at the situation logically and with common sense. By now you should know that neither of those two things nor ethics or morality have anything to do with the current Leftist behavior. They simply do what they want to do when they want to do it since there are no penalties of consequence for them. It is like a group of narcissists who simply want to do what makes them feel good and they really don’t care about anyone else. It’s really just that simple.

    • …and the one Capitol Police gunman got away with murder…even after all his incriminating social media “red flags” as well as rampant violation of official protocols and policies. This is what happens when an Agency has no transparency, no oversight, no accountability, no obligation to respond to FOIA, a secret budget, etc…Nancy’s Capitol Police are the closest the U.S. has to the Stasi of the GDR. They are opening offices around the USA…because ??

      • Montana, if there’s a police agency in the US that reminds me of our rcmp it’s gotta be these clowns. New Jersey runs an exceedingly close second. Our guys have fallen far… just another gang selling a product nowadays and the party of the idiot manchild is, by far, the highest bidder.

        • @R/S

          That’s a shame…20 – 25 years ago I dealt with a number of Mounties based out of Fort MacLeod, Cranbrook and Kelowna. I found them to be professional on-duty and a hoot after duty hours. However, the CBSA officers, while professional, had absolutely no sense of humor at any time.

      • “They are opening offices around the USA…because ??”

        There are two answers to this.

        1. You know why.

        2, slightly more acidic: Because no one in this fat-assed country has the balls to stop them.

    • Ted Cruz: Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the riot?

      Jill Sanborn, executive assistant director for the FBI’s national security branch (under oath): “Sir, I can’t answer that.”

      If the answer was no, then she would have said so. Who were those masked, black clad individuals seen vandalizing property and breaking in? That isn’t exactly typical MAGA attire. Have they been arrested?

  4. Was the officer alone? Or did they have the negligent discharge with another officer?

  5. The wheels turn and grind quickly when you’re a small cog in the machine.

    Now, what about alec baldwin?

    • Everyone with a brain, common sense, and knowledge of gun safety should go absolutely nuts protesting if he gets off without being charged. I have already written to the Sheriff of Santa Fe County, AZ and told him to do his job or quit. I have also written to my local and national firearm organizations and asked them to protest if he goes without charges. I think this nation needs to rise up and see that he is punished for what he did negligently.

      • It is not the sheriff who makes the charging decision.
        The local district attorney (or whatever that state calls that office) is the one who has powers to prosecute or not prosecute.
        Your local DA, like all DAs, does not have to base the decision to prosecute or not prosecute on the legal aspects of the case.
        They are perfectly free to use political considerations.
        Arizona is trying to lure movie production companies to move their operations to Arizona.
        The states attorney, DA, or whatever they call him, is free to choose not to prosecute based on that consideration alone.
        Courts will not second-guess his decision, their standard reply will be if you don’t like the charging decisions, elect a different prosecutor.
        If you want to send a letter to anyone, send it to the district attorney in that jurisdiction

  6. I don’t know if the proper word is irony or hypocrisy but discharging a weapon resulting in a suspension is really not comparable to killing people. Shooting an unarmed demonstrator climbing through a window and killing her and beating an unconscious woman on the ground with a baton who died and having no penalties at all invoked really is a strain on the value system. The Capitol Police like most of the other people associated with this current administration are incompetent. All of these folks have taken an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and you might as well rip it ups and throw it away as far as they are concerned.

  7. Unintended discharges are kind of like pissing in your wet suit. There are those that have done it and those that lie about it.

    • I had an HK USP compact with a LEM trigger chambered in 40 S&W discharged a round when I released the slide on a fresh magazine. My finger was not even in the trigger guard. Needless to say it startled the heck out of me and I no longer carry HKs that have that trigger.

  9. I’m guessing that the officer was suspended with pay and after 24 hours they will not make any statements, then after a cursory investigation will be returned to duty.

    Unless the noise happened to cause a staffer to drop their coffee or heaven forbid AOC in another building had to hide under her desk again, if either of those happened then they will likely be held in the DC jail while awaiting charges and without bail until the trial.

    Personally I have nothing against the capital police so long as they keep their hands where I can see them and don’t make any sudden movements.

  10. Justin is probably correct. Being suspended is not the same as being fired.

    Certainly don’t want to waste all that time/money spent on training.

  12. “A U.S. Capitol Police officer fired a gun inside a break room”

    In literally any other story, that would read “a U.S. Capitol Police officer’s gun fired inside a break room”.

    I wonder if a certain AP “journalist” will soon be looking for another job. Not that that makes him any less of a scumbag, I just thought that it was interesting since usually LE NDs are reported to the public with a passive voice rather than an active one

  13. Was it a negligent discharge or was it an attempted insurrection? Difficult to say these days. Maybe he should be put in jail as a precaution in the event it turns out to be seditious conspiracy.

  19. He should have been suspended. A NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE is inexcusable.

      • Riderless/ShootOff Canuck. You are the liar, not I. Do us a favor and take advantage of that free medical up there in Canada and get a mental health check up.

        • But beverly dear, I can prove it. And if I can prove your exceedingly unlikely discrepancy then it ain’t me who’s the liar here, right? Times running out dude, you can still come clean and explain yourself, but now you also have to explain your adolescent reaction to my initial inquiry, offer an apology and prove your other claims. Last chance… wally.

  20. Funny how an ND gets a splashy investigation but beating an unconscious woman in the head with a nightstick gets a pass.

      • I guess it depends on whom we’re discussing.

        I was referring to the authority, ie, the department that employs them. But you are certainly correct that there are political activists who lionize such people.

  21. I’ve only ever had one ND, and it was right after I had learned how to shoot. Thankfully, it was at a range with my pistol pointed in a safe direction down range. While changing what I thought was an empty magazine, it dropped on the table and I reached my support hand to pick it up. Unfortunately, my reflexes weren’t properly trained at the time, and my right trigger finger sympathetically closed on the trigger when I grabbed with my other hand. Since this was a .22 target pistol with a pretty light trigger, it popped off the (unknown to me) chambered round, which promptly hit the backstop of the range.

    I learned a serious lesson that day, and ever since then I unfailingly do not ever attempt to do anything other than point and aim while holding a pistol.

    That’s a long-winded way of saying this cop is a moron who was probably showing off his gat in the break room. I’m sure glad that the Vetted Experts Who Are The Only People To Be Trusted With Firearms continually demonstrate their impeccable training.

  23. We will never learn the truth from a Communist LEO that reports to a Communist Nancy Pelosi.

    • I’m sure they will fully investigate themselves and then issue a statement of no wrong doing months after the highly trained officer has been relocated to another cell operating behind the blue line. Or we could wait years, then, after the third or fourth freedom of information inquiry, we could receive the freshly redacted version instead. It’s almost enough to make a guy not trust em…

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