Thursday, June 9, 2022

'I was slipping in people's blood,' says Capitol Police officer, recalling events on January 6

Caroline Edwards
U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who was the first law enforcement officer injured by rioters storming the Capitol grounds on January 6, testifies during a hearing by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol on June 09, 2022 in Washington, DC.
  • Caroline Edwards recalled how the US Capitol looked like an "absolute war zone" on January 6, 2021.
  • In testimony before the House select committee, the Capitol cop said "I was slipping in people's blood."
  • A bicycle rack landed on Edwards' head. She said she was also pepper sprayed and tear gassed.

Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards said it looked to her like an "absolute war zone" on January 6, 2021, when supporters of former President Trump attacked the US Capitol, forcing officers to engage in "hours of hand-to-hand combat" beyond the scope of any law enforcement training.

Edwards, who was injured in the attack, told members of the House select committee on Thursday, "I can just remember my breath catching in my throat" while looking at the "carnage" and "chaos" of the riot scene.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," she told the committee. "There were officers on the ground. You know, they were bleeding, they were throwing up…I mean I saw friends with blood all over their faces. I was slipping in people's blood. You know, I was catching people as they fell."

Edwards told committee members how she lost consciousness during the attack when a bicycle rack landed on her head, but she then returned to duty, only to be pepper sprayed and tear gassed.

She said she is trained to detain a couple of subjects and handle a crowd. But she isn't trained for combat, which is what that day entailed, she said.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that as a police officer, as a law enforcement officer, I would find myself in the middle of a battle," she said.

Read the original article on Business Insider


from Business Insider https://ift.tt/Cvmx9k0
via IFTTT https://href.li/?https://bit.ly/smartgadgets- https://href.li/?https://bit.ly/smart_gadgets https://href.li/?https://bit.ly/modern_gadgets https://href.li/?https://bit.ly/kitchen_toods

No comments:

Post a Comment

Space travel should not be just ‘for the elites’, says new British astronaut | European Space Agency

submitted by /u/Abhi_mech007 [link] [comments] from /r/Technology https://ift.tt/8FoCMjx via IFTTT https://href.li/?https://...