Capitol police officers expressed their dissatisfaction with the department’s top leaders with an overwhelming vote of no confidence, after several police officers were injured, one officer died and two committed suicide after the January 6 attack on the Capitol by a crowd of supporters of the president Trump.
The U.S. Capitol Police Working Committee, the union representing thousands of Capitol police officers, announced that 92% of Capitol police officers voted that they did not trust interim chief Yogananda Pittman, and a substantial majority also did not vote for six other leaders in the department.
The previous boss, Steven Sund, resigned under pressure while authorities blamed him for the massive security breaches of January 6.
“Capitol Police offers gave an overwhelming vote of No Confidence to the top leadership of the US Capitol Police,” the union said in a press release. “The Executive Council of the Capitol Police Union asked ordinary members to consider a vote of no confidence at the end of last week after the poor management of the Capitol insurrection at the Capitol on January 6. The council took this unprecedented step after the review. details of events on, and leading up to, January 6 and the subsequent deaths of 6 people, and injuries to approximately 140 Capitol and Metropolitan Police officers. ”
“[O]our leadership clearly failed us. We know why we were there, “said union president Gus Papathanasiou, according to the statement.
In late January, Pittman told members of Congress that the department knew until January 4 that the January 6 demonstration “it wouldn’t be like any of the previous protests held in 2020. “
“We knew that militia groups and white supremacist organizations would be present. We also knew that some of these participants intended to bring firearms and other weapons to the event. We knew there was a strong potential for violence and that Congress was the target, “said Pittman.
That the leadership team “knew what was coming, but did not prepare us better for potential violence, including the possible use of firearms against us, is unfair,” said union president Gus Papathanasiou in a statement after the testimony by Pittman.
On Monday night, Pittman released a conciliatory statement in response to the vote of no confidence. “It has been just over a month since one of our nation’s darkest days, and the trauma is still incredibly raw and difficult for the many officers who fought heroically on the 6th. Since the oath on January 8, my executive team and I have made the welfare of our officers our highest priority, “she said. “Although progress has been made, there is still more work to do. And I am committed to ensuring that each officer gets what he needs and deserves.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Nancy Pelosi said it’s time to move on more funding for Capitol security and for the safety of individual members. She is asking for an independent, 9/11 type commission to review the security breaches on 6 January.
– Rebecca Kaplan and Nikole Killion of CBS News contributed to this report.