Capitol police officers expressed their displeasure with top department leaders with an overwhelming vote of censure, after dozens of officers were injured, one officer was killed and two committed suicide after the Capitol attack. of January 6 by crowds of supporters of President Trump.
The U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee, the union that represents thousands of U.S. Capitol Police officers, announced that 92% of Capitol Police officers voted they did not trust the head in office, Yogananda Pittman, and that substantial majorities also voted without confidence in six other top leaders. in the department.
Former chief executive Steven Sund resigned from the pressure because officials blamed him for the January 6 mass security breaches.
“Capitol Police bids have given an overwhelming vote of No confidence in senior U.S. Capitol Police leaders,” the union said in a press release. “The Executive Board of the Capitol Police Union asked grassroots members to consider a vote of confidence late last week after the insurgency’s mismanagement by the insurgency on the Capitol on January 6. details of the events of the Capitol January 6 and through January 6 and the subsequent death of 6 people and injured approximately 140 officers of the Capitol and the Metropolitan Police “.
“[O]your leadership clearly failed us. We know this because we were there, “said Gus Papathanasiou, the union’s president.
In late January, Pittman told members of Congress that the department had known before Jan. 4 that the Jan. 6 demonstration. “it would not be like any of the previous protests held in 2020 “.
“We knew that groups of white militias and supremacist organizations would attend. We also knew that some of these participants intended to bring firearms and other weapons to the event. We knew that there was a strong potential for violence and that Congress it was the goal. ”Pittman said.
That the leadership team “knew what was to come but did not better prepare us for possible violence, including the possible use of firearms against us, is unconscious,” union president Gus Papathanasiou said in a statement later. of Pittman’s testimony.
On Monday night, Pittman issued a conciliatory statement in response to the censure vote. “It’s been a little over a month since one of our nation’s darkest days, and the trauma is still incredibly raw and hard for the many officers who fought heroically on the 6th. Since we swore on the 8th January, my executive team and I have made our top priority is the well-being of our officers, ”he said. “Even though progress has been made, there is still more work to be done. I am committed to ensuring that every officer gets what he needs and deserves.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said it’s time to move on more funding for Capitol security and for the safety of individual members. Ask for an independent 11/11 commission to review security bugs on Jan. 6.
– Rebecca Kaplan and Nikole Killion of CBS News contributed to this report.