(NewsNation Now) — U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund announced his resignation this week following Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman began her role as Acting Chief of Police on Friday.
Sund will resign effective Jan. 16 after hundreds of pro-Trump supporters breached security perimeters at the Capitol.
Three days before the riot, the Pentagon asked the U.S Capitol Police if it needed National Guard support. The Justice Department reached out to offer up FBI agents as the mob stormed the building but the police turned them down both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter.
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Despite plenty of warnings of a possible insurrection, Sund said police only prepared for a free speech demonstration.
He resigned Thursday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had called on him to step down. His resignation was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Assistant Chief Pittman joined U.S. Capitol Police in April 2001. She was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to the Department’s Communications Division in 2006. In January 2010, she was promoted to Lieutenant and was assigned to the House Division.
In 2012, Assistant Chief Pittman was one of the first African-American female supervisors to attain the rank of Captain. While serving as Captain, she was assigned to the Capitol Division as the Executive Officer. As a commander, she supervised more than 400 officers and civilians and led the efforts to provide the security footprint for the 2013 Presidential Inauguration.
Assistant Chief Pittman graduated from Morgan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1991. She earned her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in May 2019 and is currently working toward her Ph.D. in Public Administration from West Chester University.