WP, pg1: Capitol Police Were Warned of Holes in Security

[DeepModem Mom]

Capitol Police Were Warned of Holes in Security
Lieutenants Listed Flaws in Aug. Memo; No One Was Guarding Doorway That Intruder Burst Through
By Sari Horwitz, Mary Beth Sheridan and Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 23, 2006; Page A01

Capitol Police officers warned their superiors this summer that the U.S. Capitol needed tighter security because of construction work, but a door was left unguarded this week, allowing the worst breach in eight years, officials said yesterday.

A drug-addled man easily drove a Chevrolet TrailBlazer through a partially blocked construction entrance to the Capitol grounds, according to officials and court testimony. The man then outran two dozen police officers into the building and went from floor to floor until a civilian employee lifted him up and literally handed him to police. The officers found a loaded pistol in the intruder's waistband.

New revelations emerged as authorities continued to investigate Monday's incident. As days go by, the officials have grudgingly admitted further blunders in one of the biggest embarrassments for the law enforcement agency in years.

No one was injured in the early morning drama, which ended in the man's arrest. But legislators are outraged that it could occur, given the $2 billion they have spent on police and equipment at the Capitol since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"We have provided the (Capitol) police everything they've ever asked us for . . . from equipment to personnel. At times around here, this place looks like an armed camp," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "For somebody to be able to breach this kind of security is ridiculous."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/22/AR2006092201793.html

[tanyev]

1. You know, when the people in charge get advance warnings,

and still decide to do nothing, it makes it look like they want something bad to happen.

[Eurobabe]

2. LIHOP: FEAR, FEAR, TERRA TERRA!!

[LostinVA]

3. Hey, the Caps snagged McKinney, and that's what really counts

The real threat to all those dudes on Capitol Hill was a liberal black elected official.... who cares about possible REAL domestic terrorists.