Philadelphia police investigating if any of their own took part in deadly Capitol riots

Philadelphia police opened an investigation against one of their own detectives and what role the officer might have played in last week’s deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol, officials said Sunday.

The department is aware of “social media posts that allege that a PPD detective may have been in attendance at” Wednesday’s protest that turned violent as mobs stormed the Capitol, Philadelphia police spokesman Sgt. Eric Gripp said in a statement.

The riot, egged on by outgoing President Donald’s Trump lies that election fraud cost him the election to President-elect Joe Biden, led to the deaths of at least five people.

“An IAB investigation has been opened to determine if any PPD polices were violated by the detective, and if they participated in any illegal activities while in attendance,” Gripp said.

“The detective’s assignment has been changed pending the outcome of the investigation.”

A representative for the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5 could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.

Over the weekend, police in Rocky Mount, Virginia, placed two officers on administrative leave for their alleged participation in the riots.

And police in Seattle said at least two of their off-duty officers attended the Washington, D.C. event last week.

A West Virginia legislator, who recorded and then deleted a video of himself storming the U.S. Capitol, is also among those criminally charged in connection to the deadly melee. Del. Derrick Evans, a Republican West Virginia state representative, was charged with knowingly entering a restricted area.

While Evans claims he did not break any laws, the freshman lawmaker resigned over the weekend saying in a statement: “I hope this action I take today can remove any cloud of distraction from the state Legislature, so my colleagues can get to work in earnest building a brighter future for our state.”

Evans won his seat in November with 37.3 percent of the vote, topping his closest rival, Democrat Ric Griffith, who had 25 percent.