The U.S. Capitol Police say they are investigating reports that a specially trained and equipped SWAT team was ordered not to assist D.C. Metropolitan Police responding to the Navy Yard shooting rampage Monday.
Two D.C. Metropolitan Police officers armed only with handguns entered the building alone after the “stand down” order, and one was shot, according to WUSA-9 News and the BBC.
“I have asked the Capitol Police Board to lead an independent fact review of our response, specifically our mutual aid efforts,” said Capitol Hill Police Chief Kim C. Dine in a statement to The Washington Times Thursday.
ABC 9 News reported Wednesday that Capitol Hill cops were “furious,” about the order “believing they could have saved lives.”
The FBI said Monday that Navy computer contract technician Aaron Alexis entered the Navy Yard just after 8 a.m. and used a Remington shotgun he had with him to kill 12 people before being shot dead by police.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrence Gainer, who oversees the Capitol Police, told the BBC that officials were pulling radio logs from Monday’s incident and interviewing the officers involved.
SEE ALSO: Democratic reps call for hearing on Navy Yard shooting
“It’s a very serious allegation and inference to indicate that we were on scene and could have helped and were told to leave,” he said. “It crushes me if that’s the case.”
The Capitol Hill Police’s elite Containment & Emergency Response Team, or CERT, is based just a few blocks from the Navy Yard, law enforcement sources told WUSA-9 TV. The station reported the unit was less than 30 seconds from the gate and responded Monday as D.C. Metropolitan Police officers requested assistance.
• Shaun Waterman can be reached at swaterman@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.