Capitol Police appoint new interim chief

The Capitol Hill Police Council has appointed a new acting chief of police for the agency following the resignation of its former chief following the violent riot that swept past the U.S. Capitol.

A statement on the agency’s website said Yogananda Pittman had been appointed acting chief of police.

His appointment follows the resignation of U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, whose response to Wednesday’s violence was sharply criticized by lawmakers in the hours that followed.

Sund had said on Thursday that he would resign effective Jan. 16, after which he would transition to sick leave status and exhaust a saved sick leave allowance before leaving the force. But the United States Capitol Police website says Pittman was appointed as acting chief on Friday.

Information on how Pittman was chosen given the resignation of two members of the Police Council, the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, was not apparent and the agency did not immediately dismiss a request for comment from The Hill.

A nearly 20-year veteran of the Capitol Hill Police Department, Pittman has served as the agency’s deputy chief since 2018.

Five people died, including one of the office’s officers, in Wednesday’s violence, while lawmakers, staff and journalists were forced to huddle out of fear for their lives in secure areas around the Capitol . The scene took place after President TrumpDonald Trump Kim Says North Korean Efforts To Focus On Bringing United States To Its Knee Pelosi Urges Democrats To Prepare To Return To DC This Week Amid Ken Klippenstein Impeachment Calls: ‘Ideological’ Blind Spot ” prevented the police from responding urgently to the riots on Capitol Hill READ MORE urged supporters at a rally in Washington to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill and call on Republican lawmakers to support a plan to oppose the electoral vote count for the president-elect Joe bidenJoe BidenKim says North Korean efforts will focus on bringing the U.S. to its knees Amazon suspends Talk about web hosting service Pelosi urges Democrats to prepare to return to DC this week amid impeachment calls MORE states of the battlefield.

In a statement following the attack, Sund described the scene as “unlike anything I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, DC” and pointed out that his department had been prepared for demonstrations around town following the electoral certification.