Navy Yard: Swat team 'stood down' at mass shooting scene (Benghazi Part II)

[ShooterInPA1]

A tactical response team of the Capitol Police, a force that guards the US Capitol complex, was told to leave the scene by a supervisor instead of aiding municipal officers.

The Capitol Police department said senior officials were investigating.

Aaron Alexis, 34, killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday.

"I don't think it's a far stretch to say that some lives may have been saved if we were allowed to intervene," a Capitol Police source familiar with the incident told the BBC.

A former Navy reservist, Alexis was working as a technical contractor for the Navy and had a valid pass and security clearance allowing him entry to the highly secure building in south-east Washington DC.

He entered the building about 8:15 local time (12:15 GMT) and opened fire. He was later killed by police who stormed the building.

But multiple sources in the Capitol Police department have told the BBC that its highly trained and heavily armed four-man Containment and Emergency Response Team (Cert) was near the Navy Yard when the initial report of an active shooter came in about 8:20 local time.

The officers, wearing full tactical gear and armed with HK-416 assault weapons, arrived outside Building 197 a few minutes later, an official with knowledge of the incident told the BBC.

According to a Capitol Police source, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Washington DC's main municipal force, told the Capitol Cert officers they were the only police on the site equipped with long guns and requested their assistance in searching for the gunman.

When the Capitol Police team radioed in to their superiors, they were told by a watch commander to leave the scene, the BBC was told.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/24153252

[bogey1]

But they call in swat to kill a 107yr old man I told you this shit stinks.

[ShooterInPA1]

But they call in swat to kill a 107yr old man I told you this shit stinks.

Gotta love how we have to go to the British media to get this information.

[unclejumbo]

Without all of the details, I'll tell you why I think it stinks. I would assume being capitol police they are tasked with guarding the Capitol building and various other government buildings. I think it's likely that the supervisor didn't wan't them out their jurisdiction. Especially if they were the only tac team on stand-by. If all of an area's assets go to an incident, other areas are left vulnerable.

Given that politicians are more important than the rest of us, I would imagine the team was kept at the Capitol in case this was more than a lone gunman scenario. After all, what's a few civilians and military personnel against the well being of Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner?

In all seriousness, from a tactical standpoint it does make some sense. I have no doubt that the Mumbai attacks resulted in protocols that prevents leaving especially rich targets vulnerable. I would guess that all bases and installations have response teams, DC Metro has a SWAT team and there are how many heavily armed federal agents in the area?

[PocketProtector]

Something is really really really wrong with our government

[ShooterInPA1]

Without all of the details, I'll tell you why I think it stinks. I would assume being capitol police they are tasked with guarding the Capitol building and various other government buildings. I think it's likely that the supervisor didn't wan't them out their jurisdiction. Especially if they were the only tac team on stand-by. If all of an area's assets go to an incident, other areas are left vulnerable.

Given that politicians are more important than the rest of us, I would imagine the team was kept at the Capitol in case this was more than a lone gunman scenario. After all, what's a few civilians and military personnel against the well being of Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner?

In all seriousness, from a tactical standpoint it does make some sense. I have no doubt that the Mumbai attacks resulted in protocols that prevents leaving especially rich targets vulnerable. I would guess that all bases and installations have response teams, DC Metro has a SWAT team and there are how many heavily armed federal agents in the area?

Wow! And you really believe that?

[unclejumbo]

Wow! And you really believe that?

The first sentence you bolded was obviously sarcasm. Sorry it was lost on you.

The second sentence is absolutely correct. Maintaining assets in defensive positions is always part of good planning.

[fortysix]

There were at least 7 huge failures that caused this, way before any CERT team got involved (or not involved). Plus, did you guys see how many police showed up? I would venture over 500 police, fire, medical, and other were there, each with their own vehicle, including helicopters, and tanks. For ONE gunman, who apparently wasn't a threat to anyone on Saturday when he bought the shotgun.

That there was a stand down order isn't fishy, what's fishy is that this unpunished felon isn't halfway through a ten year sentence for the felonies he's already committed. That's the fishy thing. When we start FOLLOWING THE LAW, and punishing criminals who break the law, with the sentence prescribed in the law, we will stop at least some of these shootings, and most of the city crime. Dig ditches, fill ditches, eat bread, go to bed, repeat: that's prison, that's where this asshole ought to have been, not on the .gov payroll.

[Carson]

But they call in swat to kill a 107yr old man I told you this shit stinks.

So this swat team, did they just sneak up and kill this 107 year old man for practice or something ?

[Loggy1512]

He is referring to an incident last week where swat somewhere down south lobbed flash-bangs into a room where a 107 year old man was holed up with a gun and proceeded to shoot him dead.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/08...m-in-arkansas/