'They need to be locking them up without question': Former DC police chief criticizes response to pro-Trump breach at Capitol

• Former Washington DC Police Chief Charles Ramsey lit into the police response of pro-Trump supporters who breached the US Capitol building on Wednesday.
• Anybody inside that building … ought to be face down in handcuffs right now," he said on CNN. "I don't know what they're doing in there, but they need to be locking them up without question. But first they have to gain control, and they don't have control."
• Ramsey led the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2007.

Former Washington DC Police Chief Charles Ramsey lit into the police response of pro-Trump supporters who breached the US Capitol building on Wednesday, questioning their tactics for restoring order on a day where the Electoral College results from the 2020 presidential election were set to be certified.

Ramsey led the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2007.

"Anybody inside that building … ought to be face down in handcuffs right now," he said on CNN. "I don't know what they're doing in there, but they need to be locking them up without question. But first they have to gain control, and they don't have control."

—Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) January 6, 2021

"They're going to have be on high alert," he said. "The next challenge will be on Jan. 20. In the meantime, these next couple of days are going to be pretty dicey…this is a mess. They better establish control as soon as possible. It's not going to be pretty. They're going to have to use physical force to get those folks moving and out of there. They've got to take back the Capitol. There's no two ways about it."

Ramsey then took the opportunity to slam President Donald Trump's handling of the highly volatile situation.

"What I'd want the president to do is shut the hell up and get out of the way," he said. "The guy is like like a cancer...he stirred them up. He got this whole thing going."

—The Recount (@therecount) January 6, 2021

He added: "This is as close to a coup attempt as this country has ever seen. That's what you're looking at folks. It's absolutely ridiculous."