Capitol Police union calls on acting chief to "stand aside" over riot findings
Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman during an April press briefing in Washington, D.C. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The Capitol Police union on Wednesday called on Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman to "stand aside" following this week's Senate report on the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Driving the news: The report found a failure to relay intelligence helped lead to the deadly Capitol riot. Capitol Police union chair Gus Papathanasiou said in a statement to news outlets, "As the Senate report found, our leadership failed us and we paid a horrible price."
What they're saying: "The time has come for those in senior leadership who failed us, to stand aside. It is not enough to scapegoat others," Papathanasiou said.
- "Those most responsible, including Acting Chief Pittman who was in charge of intelligence prior to the insurrection, need to step aside for the good of the department."
- The Capitol police are "rapidly approaching a crisis," Papathanasiou said.
- "We are already down more than two hundred officers below our authorized level," he added. "This includes approximately 70 officers who have left the department since the insurrection."
- Capitol police declined to comment.
Go deeper: Capitol Police union says leadership failed the department