A Capitol police officer is facing disciplinary action after he took a selfie with a rioter on January 6 but says he only posed for the photo to calm the suspect down.
An internal probe condemned three cops for 'conduct unbecoming' after they were caught posing for selfies during the deadly violence.
One cop - who was livestreamed posing for a photo and later nicknamed 'the selfie officer' over his behavior, claimed he'd only posed with the invader to try and calm the situation down.
That cop, who has not been named, said: 'I can’t help what they do. If you want to take a photo, I’m not going to say no because we are always told to interact and keep the situation calm.'
This Capitol police officer, later named 'the selfie cop' said he posed for a snap with a suspect in an attempt to keep the situation calm
But he was hauled over hot coals by bosses, according to documents seen by McClatchyDC.
A ruling found that 'his actions were inappropriate under the circumstances, and reflected negatively upon himself as a representative of the Department.'
A second officer - whose name has not been released - was discovered after the FBI found a selfie post on his Facebook and then contacted the Capitol Police in February.
He is one of three officers that have committed conduct unbecoming for taking photos with rioters at the Capitol.
The three identified are only half of the six cases that have been discovered by the Office of Professional Responsibility following 38 investigations.
Some cases, however, were dismissed due to lack of evidence found by investigators.
The cop is among six who have faced disciplinary action for their behavior in the riots, three of which for also taking photos with rioters
The details of the officers' behaviors of the riots were revealed in the internal investigation documents obtained by McClatchy.
The department received complaints about the so-called selfie officer taking photos with rioters which were being posted on social media platforms.
The alleged officer then revealed his behavior to the department after a pending arrest warrant was issued.
He later claimed he'd only posed for the snap in a bid to later identify the rioter, but is said to have made no efforts to pass the photo on so the man could be tracked.
Officers are seen securing the entrance to the U.S. Capitol against the rioters
A third cop who posed for selfies sought to blame the 'trauma' of the event for hie behavior.
He said: 'I had people coming up to me and videoing me all day long. Pictures and videos of officers all day long,' one of other officers said.
'So, I mean, there was a lot going on that day. This is after being CS sprayed, OC sprayed, fighting with protesters all day ... Plus that, that’s a traumatic life event.'
Despite their defense, their actions were still condemned by the Department.
The three officers have been charged with conduct unbecoming.
The rioters managed to make it into the Capitol after breaking in and posted pictures and videos on social media
Rioters were seen scaling the west wall of the Capitol building in an attempt to get in
'The Department is committed to accountability when officers fail to meet the standards governed by USCP policies and the Congressional Community’s expectations,' the Capitol Police said in a statement.
'The six sustained cases should not diminish the heroic efforts of the United States Capitol Police officers.'
A special agent with the US Capitol Police’s Protective Services Bureau is also facing disciplinary action for supposed improper dissemination of information after leaking information to a friend about the lawmaker's location during the riots.
'I don’t want to report a friend of forty years but he’s says enough concerning statements that I feel like I need to do this... he’s just fallen into this cult and these beliefs,' the friend told police according to the document.
The agent has denied the claims he was sympathetic to the cause of the Capitol rioters but admitted he may have accidentally revealed the location of the lawmakers.
The location of lawmakers was revealed by a special agent with the US Capitol Police's Protective Services Bureau to his friend, which resulted in disciplinary action for the agent
The Capitol riots in D.C. were sparked following the controversial 2020 presidential race between former President Donald Trump and current U.S. President Joe Biden.
Pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building on January 6 following a speech at Trump's Save America Rally made by the former president himself.
The crowd was angered due to sharing in Trump's belief that the election was stolen, and wanted to try and stop former Vice President Mike Pence from certifying Joe Biden's win at a ceremony at the Senate.
They then stormed the U.S. Capitol with police attempting to stop the crowd as areas of the building were being evacuated.
Shocking media footage showed rioters breaking into the building which included breaking windows and scaling walls to gain entry.
Shots were fired as rioters ran free throughout the building.
Five people died as a result of the Capitol storming.
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