AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police officers are in the nation's capital to help with the presidential inauguration.
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are set to be sworn in on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. Biden's swearing-in is expected to happen around 11 a.m.
Several members of the Austin police department arrived in Washington, D.C., on Monday night.
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More than 45 members of the department's Special Response Team are there to supplement Capitol Police and to provide security.
Austin police have sent officers to help with the past several presidential inaugurations.
KVUE spoke to Sgt. Mike Crumrine over the phone from Washington, D.C., Tuesday night.
"To be a part of this, to be a part of any presidential inauguration, to go to our nation's capital is an incredible honor," Crumrine said. "To do whatever you can on your part to serve back to your country and to help serve your community and helping to protect everybody that attends as well as the dignitaries that are here is an incredible honor. So, that's the reason that we volunteer to come up here. It's, you know, it's a sense of duty and obligation and the prestige and the honor of being able to be asked to be a part of this."
Crumrine added that the mood among the officers is "really good," and they feel prepared for Wednesday.
"You know, Washington, D.C., right now, I have never seen it like this. I have been to Washington several different, several times in my life, and I've never seen it this closed down, this restricted. So, we're hoping tomorrow is just another Wednesday," he said. "That's what we're hoping. There's always the potential that things will occur. But I am beyond confident that the preparations that have been put in place will make sure that this is a safe event for everybody and a secure event for everybody."
The ceremony is expected to be held at the Western front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., which is the side that faces the National Mall and the Washington Monument. Biden's swearing-in will happen in-person but expect the audience to be limited. His inaugural committee is urging Americans not to attend in-person.
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