The mayhem at the U.S. Capitol, which raised suspicions about corrupt officers who allegedly conspired with the largely white mob, is also exposing a longstanding issue of racism within the department. Several former officers recognized the root of the problem after watching the troubling images of last week's chaos, which included footage of Capitol Police taking selfies with the pro-Trump mob while allowing rioters to parade the Confederate flag throughout the building.

While many Americans became outraged with the officers' casual approach, which served as a stark contrast to police tactics used at Black Lives Matter protests, the former Capitol agents remembered the years of negligence leading to the violence. Sharon Blackmon-Malloy is one of the former officials who is speaking out in the aftermath of the violence, shedding light on the decades-long problem which has not been addressed.   

“Nothing ever really was resolved," the retired lieutenant told ProPublica. "Congress turned a blind eye to racism on the Hill. We got Jan. 6 because no one took us seriously."

Blackmon-Malloy, who was the lead plaintiff in a 2001 discrimination lawsuit filed against the department, was not surprised when supporters of President Donald Trump carried out an act of insurrection at the Capitol without much resistance from officers. For the 25-year veteran, the chaos was a reminder of her constant effort to raise the alarm about racism within the force, which had gone unheard. 

Retired Lt. Frank Adams, who sued the department in 2001 and again in 2012 for racial discrimination, also spoke out on the history of racism at the Capitol. The Black 20-year veteran said he constantly endured or witnessed racism and sexism in the department. He also noted a policy known as “meet and greet,” where officers would stop any Black person on the Hill. 

The lieutenant recalled a cartoon he found on his desk, which depicted a Black man being greeted by a Ku Klux Klan wizard after ascending to heaven. Adams said he reported the image to his superior officers, who then denied him promotions and training opportunities. The former officer blamed Congress for the latest catastrophe, noting their failure to listen to Black members of the force for years.

“They only become involved in oversight when it’s in the news cycle,” he said. “They ignored the racism happening in the department. They ignored the hate.”

Kim Dine, who took over as the new chief of the U.S. Capitol Police in 2012, noted the department's issue when he started the job. Dine changed the force’s hiring practices in an effort to increase diversity, hired a Black woman to lead a diversity office and created a new disciplinary body within the department, promoting a Black woman to lead it. But after leaving the agency in 2016, the former chief said more had to be done.

“There is a problem with racism in this country, in pretty much every establishment that exists,” he said. “You can always do more in retrospect.”

As Blavity previously reported, two Black officers detailed the amount of racial abuse they had to endure from the violent mob on Jan. 6. The officers said they were repeatedly called the n-word while trying to fight off an angry group for which they were unprepared.

“That was a heavily trained group of militia terrorists that attacked us,” one of the veteran officers told BuzzFeed. "They had radios, we found them, they had two-way communicators and earpieces. They had bear spray. They had flash-bangs. They were prepared. They strategically put two IEDs, pipe bombs, in two different locations. These guys were military trained. A lot of them were former military.”

The two officers said they battled for two hours before the insurgents gained access to the building. But other officials allegedly joined the mob, flashing their badges and identification cards taking over the Capitol.  

“You have the nerve to be holding a Blue Lives Matter flag, and you are out there f**king us up,” the veteran Black officer said he told one group of rioters. “[One guy] pulled out his badge and he said, ‘We’re doing this for you.’ Another guy had his badge. So I was like, ‘Well, you gotta be kidding.’”