The chief spoke of the deadly toll of the attack on the Capitol.
The top Washington, DC agent said the attack on the Capitol “exposed weaknesses in the security of the nation’s safest city” during a conference briefing on Tuesday.
“I was amazed at the lukewarm response from the Army Department, which was reluctant to send the DC National Guard to the Capitol,” Deputy Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee told ABC News in a written testimony. “While I certainly understand the importance of both planning and public perception – the factors cited by the staff on the call – these issues become secondary when you consider your vastly outnumbered workers being physically attacked by a crowd. . “
“I was able to quickly deploy my troops and issue guidelines to them while they were in the field, and I was genuinely shocked that the National Guard could not or would not do the same,” he added.
Speaking about the deadly toll of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Contee noted that five people – including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick – died as a result of the siege. He also revealed that an MPD officer, whom he identified as Jeffery Smith, subsequently died by suicide. He is one of two responding agents who were killed by suicide after the attack – the other being Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood, according to Contee.
Of the more than 1,000 MPD officers who responded, 65 were injured in the riot, Contee also noted.
“Other damage from this traumatic day will be widely felt, but may not be recognized,” said Contee’s testimony. “Law enforcement training does not anticipate or prepare for hours of hand-to-hand combat. Even brief physical fights are physically and emotionally draining.”
The acting chief of the US Capitol Police apologized to lawmakers during Tuesday’s briefing for not being better prepared for the attack.
“Let me be clear, the department should have been better prepared for this attack,” acting head Yogananda Pittman told the House Appropriations Committee in the opening remarks obtained by ABC News. “We knew there was great potential for violence and that Congress was the target.”
“I am here to offer my sincere apologies on behalf of the ministry,” she said in the comments.
Pittman confirmed that the panel overseeing the department, the Capitol Police Board, rejected a request from then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund two days before the riot for National Guard forces.
The Washington Post previously reported that the Capitol police’s request was rejected by Congressional security officials because they expected House and Senate leaders not to want troops stationed around the Capitol.
Capitol Police activated more agents to work on Jan. 6 in anticipation of violence – including a SWAT team and civil unrest units – but “we haven’t done enough,” Pittman said.
Sund also requested permission to bring in the National Guard on Jan. 6, but was denied permission from the board “for more than an hour,” Pittman told the House committee.
Pittman also called the attack on the Capitol a “terrorist attack by tens of thousands of insurgents determined to stop the electoral college vote certification, the ministry was not living up to its own high standards and yours.”
“I truly believe that certain challenges faced by the ministry on the day of the attack could have been overcome with additional preparation,” she writes.
Pittman also said that once the Capitol was breached, their attention was focused on member safety and leadership.
A well-known source confirmed that the chiefs and assistant chiefs were silent on January 6. Neither took control of the radio, the source said, and when officers sought guidance there was none.
Capitol Police Union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou told ABC News that there is currently no vote of no confidence underway against the acting head and leadership of the upper division.
“Officers have called for a vote of no confidence since January 6,” said Papathanasiou. “At this point, we have not yet initiated a vote of no confidence. That doesn’t mean we can’t think about it. There is a big difference.”