Police are not the heroes of the Capitol riots

Cops overwhelmingly backed Trump in the election and were well represented among the rioters on Jan. 6

A line of riot cops form a perimeter outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Tyler Merbler / CC-BY 2.0)

One year ago, police were gassing, beating, ramming with their cars, and otherwise brutalizing protesters participating in the largest civil rights demonstration in American history. Public opinion about policing hit the lowest point in decades. But today, it seems like folks are ready to start feeling good about the cops again. What changed? This week, officers from the Capitol police testified before congress about their experiences during the Jan. 6 riots. They told about the fear they felt as a MAGA hat-wearing mob stormed the building. A Black officer recounted being called racial slurs. Some of them even cried.

All in all, it made for some compelling political theater. There was wall-to-wall coverage of the officers’ testimony in the press. More than a few liberal pundits and Democratic operatives hailed them as “American heroes.”