U.S. Capitol Police to hold no-confidence vote on Thursday

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Officers recently told CNN that intelligence and operations failures left them vulnerable to attack and said they fear the current leadership will be unable to handle future incidents.

Gus Papathanasiou, president of the union representing the rank and file officers, told CNN that the vote was aimed at senior leaders, including Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman, Deputy Chief Chad Thomas, Acting Deputy Chief Sean Gallagher, Deputy Chief Jeffrey Pickett, Deputy Chief Timothy A. Bowen and Deputy Chief Eric Waldow. Officers will be able to vote for each person.

A separate ballot will be available to officers working in the department’s Capitol division, and they will be asked to vote for a captain in that division, Papathanasiou said.

According to an email sent to members of the department obtained by CNN on Tuesday night, Pittman told officers the vote illustrates “the sentiment and concerns of some of our officers.”

“We all know how difficult the fight and sacrifice can be for us and our loved ones,” she wrote. “In these difficult times, it is important to remember that we are also a family. We are stronger together, united than divided.”

In the email, Pittman touted his efforts after his first-place appointment at the agency, including improving intelligence and operational communications.

In a USCP statement released Wednesday, which included similar points in Pittman’s email, the ministry explained that while the impending vote “does not impose any specific action, it expresses the sentiment and concerns of some of our officers that our senior commanders are working to address. “
The planned vote was originally scheduled for the week of February 1, but was pushed back out of respect for Sicknick’s memorial service in the Capitol Rotunda after officers called the timing of the vote disrespectful.
The fallout from the insurgency was compounded by the subsequent suicide of an officer and a Covid-19 outbreak that infected dozens of people within the Capitol Police. Officers are still treating significant physical injuries and countless others face the psychological trauma of the day – all while working long hours to keep Capitol Hill safe.

The USCP said in its statement that it “offers wellness counseling and support” to all staff and their families “given the emotional toll so many people are going through.”

“The officers are angry and I don’t blame them,” Papathanasiou said. “The whole management team has let us down, and they have to be held accountable.”

CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.

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