Capitol Police chief apologizes for security lapses in riot, confirms board vetoed Guard request

The acting U.S. Capitol Police chief has formally apologized to Congress for the handling of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol building, saying the force knew in advance about the potential for armed violence but failed to adequately prepare.  

"I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the department," acting Chief Yogananda Pittman on Tuesday told members of the House Appropriations Committee.  

"In the face of a terrorist attack by tens of thousands of insurrectionists determined to stop the certification of Electoral College votes, the department failed to meet its own high standards as well as yours," she also said.

Pittman, who was not in charge of the Capitol Police on Jan. 6, also detailed for lawmakers the preparations that agency officials had made in advance of the riot, which attempted to disrupt Congress certifying states' Electoral College votes for Joe Biden as president. 

However, she also confirmed that members of the Capitol Police Board initially declined a request on Jan. 4 to declare a state of emergency and authorize a request for National Guard support.

The request was made by then-Chief Steven Sund, who resigned shortly after the riot.

Two board members at the time of the attack have since resigned — Paul D. Irving, the House sergeant-at-arms, and Michael C. Stenger, the Senate sergeant-at-arms. 

Another member, J. Brett Blanton, the architect of the Capitol, is still on the board.

Blanton said in a statement that he was not included in any discussions about deploying the National Guard, according to the New York Times. The fourth member of the board is the Capitol Police chief, who has a non-voting position.

Sund told the Washington Post that he informally contacted the D.C. National Guard to see how many people could be sent to the Capitol on short notice. 

He said Irving wasn't comfortable with the "optics" of formally declaring an emergency ahead of the expected protests.

On Tuesday, Pittman also told the House committee that the police force required all available officers to be on duty the day of the riot, increased the number of civil disturbance units from four to seven, activated its SWAT team and established a new security perimeter.

The department had over 1,200 personnel on duty during the attack, but they were "no match for the tens of thousands of insurrectionists," said Pittman, according to The Hill.