Left-wing leaders across the country led a movement to “defund” local police departments, US Park Police The United States Public Service (USPP) is facing a staffing shortage and a strain on resources behind the scenes, according to union leaders, as one of the nation’s oldest law enforcement agencies continues to seek more resources.
According to Ken Spencer, president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the United States Park Police, the agency, which primarily protects national monuments in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and San Francisco, has the lowest staffing levels since 1975.
“At the officer level, it almost seems like it’s intentional, how screwed up they’ve allowed our employees to be,” he told Fox News Digital. “Holidays are always canceled. Vacations are often canceled. And day-to-day operations are absolutely unsafe for our mission.”
Police officers were present at Union Station near the US Capitol in Washington DC on July 24 while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was addressing Congress. (Hu Yousong/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“In 1975, the U.S. Park Police had a total of 547 sworn officers across the country,” Spencer told Fox News Digital. “Today, we have 515, and that number continues to decline. Despite our best efforts over the years to highlight our critical staffing concerns, Congress, the Department of the Interior, and the National Park Service have made no reasonable effort to address this crisis.”
Although the Parks Police have some allies in Congress, he said, neither the Interior Department nor National Park Service (NPS) has made appropriate adjustments under the Biden administration after years of requests for relief.
“Our officers want the American people to know that there is a draft bill in Congress that will fix our staffing crisis for decades to come,” Spencer said. “Unfortunately, both parties have neglected the agency and the bill has languished. We hope this recent event will encourage members of Congress to put pressure on the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to address this serious shortfall in federal law enforcement. Immediate action is needed to ensure the safety of our officers and the public we serve.”
Protesters burn an American flag outside Union Station following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress in Washington, DC on July 24. (Matthew Hatcher/AFP)
Neither the Interior Department nor the NPS immediately responded to requests for comment. The FOP previously said both agencies are “standing in the way” of the legislation.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., sent a fiery letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Friday demanding she provide more resources for the USPP after anti-Israel “mobs of thousands” burned American flags, damaged historical sites and attacked officers at Columbus Plaza in a violent protest on July 24 in response to Israeli Prime Minister Joe Biden’s visit to Columbus. Visit of Benjamin Netanyahu To Capitol Hill.
“It is with great concern that I am writing to you once again regarding your failure to adequately address the criminal, violent actions of pro-terrorist, anti-Israel protesters on federal property,” he wrote. “For the second time in two months, (USPP) officials are left with inadequate resources and an inadequate number of officers to protect the public and defend federal property from a malicious mob.”
Anti-Israel protesters stage massive protest in Washington DC during Netanyahu’s US visit
The United States Park Police are attempting to identify individuals responsible for assaulting a police officer and damaging federal property at Columbus Circle in Washington, DC on July 24. (U.S. Park Police)
The Park Police had only 29 officers available during the protest. The video is going viral Social media Video shows the chaos that ensues, with at least one protester attacking a USPP officer from behind.
Spencer told Fox News Digital that the number of arrests was not enough to prevent chaos.
“This latest episode in a series of violent insurrections on federal property in our Nation’s Capital is particularly concerning as I repeatedly attempted to garner support for the USPP, which you completely ignored,” Barrasso wrote.
On July 24, the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was addressing a joint meeting of Congress, an anti-Semitic protester graffitied “Hamas” on the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station in Washington, DC. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
The USPP made 10 arrests during the clash and is asking for the public’s help in identifying six other suspects involved in the chaos, who are accused of assaulting an officer and damaging government property.
Barrasso, in another letter in February, asked Haaland to address “alarming layoff rates, outdated pay scales, and chronic staffing shortages.”
“The incident at Union Station was the second time in two months that the US Park Police faced violent protesters and hostile crowds. The Biden-Harris administration, acting in the name of ‘defunding the police,’ has neglected this police force. They have allowed its ranks to fall to the lowest level in nearly 50 years. The administration must do more to support law enforcement to protect our national treasures and symbols of democracy. It is only because of the quick and decisive actions of officers that more people were not hurt and federal property was not completely destroyed,” Barrasso told Fox News Digital.
In one of his letters, Senator Ted CruzThe R-Texas senator asked National Park Service Director Chuck Sams for an explanation about USPP staffing shortages during the same riot.
Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., attend a news briefing on October 31, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“According to the USPP union, only 29 (Park Police) officers were on hand to respond to the massive protest, even as the situation rapidly and predictably escalated into a riot,” he wrote. “This stands in stark contrast to the preparations made by another organization whose resources were predictably going to be strained: Amtrak Police arranged to increase its police presence at Union Station fivefold and obtain additional resources.”
Cruz wrote that protest organizers had applied for permits for 5,000 protesters, but that number was about 200 more than police could accommodate.
“Given the USPP’s lack of resources, the NPS and the Department of the Interior should have requested additional assistance from other law enforcement agencies in the area, as did the U.S. Capitol Police and Amtrak,” Cruz wrote. “Furthermore, while the USPP union is concerned about budgetary constraints, it seems likely that the NPS could have paid for more officers in anticipation of this incident.”
US Park Police officers react while removing a handcuffed protester at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Washington, DC on July 24. (Reuters/Seth Herald)
In a statement earlier this month, the USPP FOP warned that the understaffing problem not only poses a threat to officers and the general public, but also to national heritage sites.
The agency has just 515 officers nationwide and is responsible for patrolling in and around federal sites. New York CitySan Francisco and Washington, DC
A US Park Police officer points a pepper spray canister at a protester during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Washington, DC, on July 24. (Reuters/Seth Herald)
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The Park Police are also responsible for Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York — federal property where thousands of migrants are being sheltered. Spencer said the USPP only has two officers available to monitor the shelter, which has led to a rise in crime in the surrounding community.
