Police officer assault charges dropped for some who were arrested during anti-Israel riot

At least four people who were arrested for assaulting police officers during Wednesday's riot near the Capitol building had their charges dropped, a Washington, D.C., law enforcement source told Blaze News.

One of those who was initially arrested and charged was a 15-year-old. The riot originated with protesters marching around Capitol Hill when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech to a joint session of Congress.

Few arrests were made out of the hundreds who partook in the riot. At least 23 people were arrested. The bulk of those arrests were after anti-Israel protesters attempted to take down U.S. flags that are placed right outside Union Station. Outnumbered U.S. Park Police officers moved in to stop the protesters, making some arrests. Officers managed to secure the detainees and the American flag before withdrawing from the much-larger crowd.

After police withdrew, rioters vandalized the Christopher Columbus statue and tore down and burned the remaining American flags.

The scene became chaotic as one Park Police officer, who was making an arrest, was dragged away by a rioter who grabbed onto the officer's vest.

The Washington Post reported D.C. Metro Police and Capitol Police arrested 15 people while the U.S. Park Police arrested eight people.

The police union for the Park Police released a statement explaining it did not have enough officers to conduct mass arrest operations, partly due to the years-long manpower shortage.

"That's why it's so disheartening to hear some members of Congress and members of the media, many of whom describe themselves as 'champions' of law enforcement, suggesting that officers have protesters a 'pass' or that insufficient arrests were made," chairman of the United States Park Police fraternal order Kenneth Spencer wrote.

"Nothing could further from the truth - anyone who truly cares to understand the problem would see that our officer staffing crisis is at the root of our agency's readiness. ... We simply did not have the staffing or resources to accomplish a mass arrest operation," he continued.

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