After Wednesday’s breach of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, many are outraged over the U.S. Capitol’s police officers’ response. As a result, Chief Steven Sund says he is resigning.
The chief’s resignation comes after the head of the department’s union called for a “change at the top” and will go into effect on January 16, four days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
The union chairman Gus Papathanasiou said officers are “frustrated and demoralized” over the lack of leadership that caused the inadequate response during Wednesday’s mob. He also placed the blame on a failure and planning, NBC News reports. However, he did praise the officers for their work during the madness.
“We prioritized lives over property, leading people to safety,” the statement said. “Not one Member of Congress or their staff was injured. Our officers did their jobs. Our leadership did not. Our Law Enforcement partners that assisted us were remarkable.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the resignation of Sund, The Hill reports. During a press conference, Pelosi said she had yet to hear from the Chief on the details of the day before. “I think we have to have a full review,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.
“What was underestimated? That the president of the United States would not be as inciteful? Perhaps somebody thought for a moment that he would be patriotic before he leaves office for just this once,” she said.
Chief Sund also applauded the officers’ actions on Thursday, saying their actions were “heroic” and slammed rioters for their “criminal riotous behavior.”
However, many people have criticized and questioned the Capitol’s police force’s response, pointing out its inability to prevent rioters from getting into the building while also citing the stark comparison to the handlings of other protests like Black Lives Matter.
“No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently from the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol,” he said. “We all know that’s true. And it’s unacceptable. Totally unacceptable.”
During his interview on NBC’s ‘Today’ show, former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer also criticized the police response, saying it was a “failure” and that the incident “raises a lot of questions.”
“Clearly, there’s failures,” he said. “There has to be a lot of questions asked and answers given. What is very clear is the police underestimated the violent crowd and the size of it, and they overestimated their ability to control it.”
The National Guard will be mobilized at the Capitol for the next 30 days.
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