Capitol police officers expressed their displeasure with the department’s top leaders in an overwhelming voice of distrust. After numerous officers were injured, one officer died and two committed suicide after the January 6 attack on the Capitol by crowds of supporters of President Trump.
The U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee, the union representing thousands of Capitol U.S. police officers, announced that 92% of Capitol police officers voted they had no confidence in Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman. in the department.
The previous chief, Steven Sund, resigned under pressure because officials blamed him for the massive failures on January 6 on him.
“The Capitol Police offer an overwhelming vote of no confidence in the senior leadership of the U.S. Capitol Police,” the union said in a news release. “The Executive Council of the Capitol Police Union has called on members of the people to consider a vote of no confidence late last week after the mismanagement of the uprising at the Capitol on January 6 by the senior leadership. ‘took this unprecedented step after reviewing it. details of the events and run-up to January 6 and the subsequent deaths of 6 people, and injuries to about 140 police officers in Capitol and Metropolitan.’
“[O]your leadership has clearly failed us. We know because we were there, ‘union chairman Gus Papathanasiou said in the statement.
In late January, Pittman told Congress that the department knew on January 4 that the January 6 demonstration “”would not be like any of the previous protests held in 2020. “
“We knew that militia groups and white supremacist organizations would attend. We also knew that some of these participants were planning to bring firearms and other weapons to the event. We knew that there was a strong potential for violence and that the Congress was the target, ‘Pittman said.
That the leadership team ‘knew what was coming, but did not better prepare us for possible violence, including the possible use of firearms against us, is unscrupulous,’ union chairman Gus Papathanasiou said in a statement following Pittman’s testimony.
Pittman released a conciliatory statement Monday night in response to the no-confidence vote. “It’s just over a month since one of the darkest days of our country, and the trauma is still incredibly raw and difficult for the many officers who fought heroically on the 6th. Since I was sworn in on January 8, I and my executive team the the well-being of our officers is our top priority, ‘she said. “While progress has been made, there is still more work to be done. And I am committed to ensuring that every officer gets what he needs and deserves. ”
Meanwhile, House President Nancy Pelosi said it was time to succeed more funding for Capitol security and for the safety of individual members. She calls on an independent 9/11-style commission to review the January 6 security failures.
CBS News’s Rebecca Kaplan and Nikole Killion contributed to this report.