The U.S. Park Police’s radio communications system did not record any transmissions when the agency and other law enforcement officers dispersed a crowd of protestors gathered around Lafayette Square on June 1 ahead of President Trump’s visit to a nearby church, the agency told The Washington Post.
The disclosure comes as the episode faces scrutiny from members of Congress and the internal watchdog for the Department of Interior. Park Police have previously acknowledged using smoke canisters and pepper balls to clear the group of largely peaceful protestors who gathered in the area following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
The incident came ahead of a 7 p.m. citywide curfew and just moments before Trump visited the St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo-op. Members of the Secret Service, D.C. National Guard and Arlington County police were also involved.
Park Police Lt. Jonathan Hofflinger told The Post on Tuesday that “at the conclusion of the demonstrations, we discovered that the radio recorder was not working and did not record any transmissions.”
“However, written radio logs were generated as a redundant practice,” he said. “This recorder issue has since been rectified.”
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Park Police did not record radio transmissions during June 1 sweep of White House protesters https://t.co/9VvZya9p9l pic.twitter.com/lqJ6BIxzEv
— The Hill (@thehill) July 8, 2020
“at the conclusion of the demonstrations, we discovered that the radio recorder was not working and did not record any transmissions.”
How convenient!
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