Suspension of 2 U.S. Capitol Police Officers - Protecting The President - Who Can He Trust?

As the threats get more heated against Obama, The Washington Post is reporting about the Suspension of 2 U.S. Capitol Police Officers as a security precaution to President Obama's safety.

AAPP: These internal and external threats seem to keep on coming. There have been other concerns recently about police officer involvement in threats.



Yes, 2 U.S. Capitol Police Officers, sworn to protect and to serve the nations most powerful were suspended with pay on Jan. 19, the eve of the inauguration ceremony, pending an internal inquiry into an allegation that they associated with felons in violation of department policy, according to a senior law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the personnel matter.

In the waPo article written by Spencer Hsu, Mary Beth Sheridan and Carrie Johnson they write; In the days leading up to President Obama's inauguration, U.S. law enforcement agencies huddled regularly in an effort to minimize any possible security risk to an event that promised record crowds for the country's first black president. But one agenda item led authorities to a target close to home: the ranks of the U.S. Capitol Police.

An FBI investigation that included taped surveillance had placed two off-duty veteran Capitol Police officers in the company of individuals whose racial views and capacity for violence were under scrutiny. Although the recorded discussion did not center on Obama, federal law enforcement officials wanted to ensure that the officers were not on duty covering the Capitol, where the president took the oath of office, according to two sources involved in the matter.

The FBI alerted Capitol Police officials, but some federal officials grew concerned when no immediate action was taken, according to the sources. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan voiced his frustration to then-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, according to a senior federal official with knowledge of the incident. Chertoff, a former federal appeals court judge, told officials that if the Capitol Police did not act, he was prepared to take the issue to members of Congress overseeing the inauguration, the senior federal official said.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. . . . But there are codes of conduct that are necessary for law enforcement and people in positions of public trust," said one senior federal official with knowledge of the episode. Common sense dictated, the official added, that the swearing-in of the nation's first black president was not a time to take chances.

The episode underscores the extraordinary precautions that law enforcement agencies took in the days before Obama's inauguration, including scouring their own ranks for possible security risks. Officials have offered few specifics about their work to protect the president, a coordinated effort directed by the Secret Service and overseen by Chertoff that drew on scores of federal, state and local agencies. More HERE More at Reidblog

AAPP: Black folks have always been concerned about President Barack Obama's safety. This report in The Washington Post is a chilling reminder of the hatred against blacks even within many Police and Federal security agencies across America. There are all sorts of crazies out there. Remember The Treasury Department's investigation of racism among Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and their "whites only" retreat in Tennessee attended by some ATF agents?