Morale Plunges Among Short-Staffed Capitol Hill Police

U.S. Capitol police surround a blue car that rammed a police barricade outside the U.S. Capitol building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 2, 2021. Michael Weekes/Reuters

The U.S. Capitol Hill Police (CHP) are short-staffed and overworked as the number of officers leaving the force mounts on a daily basis, but Congress doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to address the problem.

There are 1,839 members of the CHP, which has lost three members to death this year. Officer Brian Sicknick died in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot, while Officer Howard Liebengood took his own life a few days later.