Steven Sund

Steven A. Sund is a retired American police officer who served as the tenth chief of the United States Capitol Police. Sund was chief during the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Following the attack he resigned.

Steven Sund
Chief of the United States Capitol Police
In office
June 14, 2019 – January 8, 2021
Preceded byMatthew R. Verderosa
Succeeded byThomas Manger
Personal details
EducationJohns Hopkins University (BS, MS)
Naval Postgraduate School (MA)
OccupationPolice officer

Education

Sund received a B.S. and M.S. from Johns Hopkins University, and an M.A. in homeland security from the Naval Postgraduate School.[1]

D.C. Metropolitan police

Sund was a member of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia for more than 25 years before retiring in 2015.[1] He was “widely respected in the District and among leaders of U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Park Police” and other law enforcement agencies.[2]

During his career, Sund coordinated a number of National Special Security Events by the Department of Homeland Security, to include the 2001, 2005, 2009, and 2013 Presidential Inaugurations,"[3] Sund was "the on-scene incident commander on the 2009 shooting at the National Holocaust Museum, the 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council, and the 2013 active shooter incident at the Washington Navy Yard."[3] In addition, as Commander of the Special Operations Division he handled dozens of criminal barricades with a record of zero fatalities.[1]

Sund authored many of the special events manuals for the District of Columbia and helped shape the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework. He also has instructed the U.S Secret Service "in the area of major events planning and has taught Incident Command System at the George Washington University as an adjunct professor."[4]

Sund retired from the D.C. Metropolitan police force as Commander (Deputy Chief) of the Special Operations Division.[1] Thereafter he worked in the private sector for Noblis as the Director of Business Development for National Security and Intelligence.[1][5]

Capitol Police

In 2017, Sund joined the United States Capitol Police as the Assistant Chief of Police and Chief of Operations.[1] In June 2019, Sund was sworn in as the tenth Chief of the United States Capitol Police.[1]

Sund reports that on January 3, he contacted House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul D. Irving and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael C. Stenger to request National Guard in advance of the January 6 joint-session of Congress. According to Sund, his request was denied by Irving who stated concerns about "optics".[6]

Responding to the 2021 Capitol attack
For broader coverage of this topic, see Law enforcement response to the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
January 6 United
States Capitol attack
A gallows (top) and a crowd of attackers amid a cloud of tear gas (bottom) outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021
Timeline of events
Background
2020 presidential election
and other causes
Related groups and persons
Participants
List
Law enforcement response
Aftermath
Biden inauguration
Investigations and charges
Corporate actions
Reactions
Impeachment

Sund was chief when, on January 6, 2021, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building while Congress was counting the electoral votes of the 2020 presidential election.[7] Rioters were able to reach the chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, marking the first time since 1814 that the Capitol building had been breached.[8][9]

Capitol Police received major backlash after video emerged of what looked like some officers allowing rioters into the Capitol, and another officer filmed taking a selfie with rioters.[10][11][12][13]

Resignation

In the early morning hours of January 7, Sund issued a statement defending the department's response.[14][4]

That afternoon, during a televised press conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for Sund's resignation, citing "a failure of leadership at the top" of the department[15] and added that Sund had not contacted her since the event.[16][14] (An aide to Pelosi later clarified that Pelosi and Sund had spoken on the evening of January 6, but not after that time).[17]

That afternoon, Sund submitted a letter of resignation stating his intention to remain in the post until January 16.[18][19] The following day, January 8, Sund's command ended;[20] Yogananda Pittman was sworn in as acting US Capitol Police Chief, the first female and first African American to hold the post.[21]

Aftermath

On February 1, 2021, Sund sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi detailing the events leading up to and including January 6.[6] Sund provided a timeline for the aid he sought from local law enforcement agencies and National Guard units, and an accounting of the meetings he had after the perimeter had been breached while he sought assistance.[6] Toward the end of the letter, Sund acknowledged a breakdown in some systems, "... all of which can be rectified with more resources, better training, updated policies, and accountability." He did not specify which systems failed but pointed to the lack of intelligence, noting officials didn't predict an "armed assault" on the Capitol.[6]

It took more than four hours for the requested National Guard troops to be sworn in at the Capitol. While National Guard assistance was being delayed by the Pentagon, Chief Sund was able to call in and coordinate more than 1,700 police officers from 18 jurisdictions to the Capitol to help clear the building of people and potentially hazardous materials.[6]

On February 23, Sund testified before Senate committees about the storming.[22][23] Sund later stated he regretted his resignation.[24]

On March 3, 2021, Major General William Walker, the commanding officer of the DC National Guard testified in a Senate hearing. His testimony supported Sund's account of events.[25] Walker testified that he spoke with Sund at 1:49 p.m. Walker said, "It was an urgent plea" from Sund, "and his voice was cracking, and he was serious, he needed help right then and there, every available Guardsman." Walker said he passed this along to Army leadership during the call shortly thereafter, "and during that call, Sund pleaded to have National Guard support at the Capitol immediately." Walker said that was "reinforced" by Contee and quoted him as saying, "We need them there right now. The Capitol will be breached."[26] Within minutes of the call, the Capitol was breached.

Sund maintained that the U.S. Capitol Police "did not fail". He said Capitol Police officers had acted bravely and that, "outnumbered and against tremendous odds", they had maintained the safety of members of Congress.[19]

External video
After Words interview with Sund on Courage Under Fire, January 8, 2023, C-SPAN

Sund has written a book, Courage Under Fire: Under Siege and Outnumbered 58 to 1 on January 6 (ISBN 9798200983520), published in January 2023 by Blackstone Publishing. It became an “Amazon triple bestseller” in the first week of publication.[27][28][29] In the book, Sund highlights failures by several intelligence agencies to heed various warnings of the Jan. 6 attack.

References
  1. "Executive Team". United States Capitol Police. June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Leonnig, Carol D.; Davis, Aaron C.; Hermann, Peter; Demirjian, Karoun. "Outgoing Capitol Police chief: House, Senate security officials hamstrung efforts to call in National Guard". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  3. "Steven A. Sund Appointed New Assistant Chief of Police". United States Capitol Police. January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  4. Norman, Greg (January 8, 2021). "Who is Steven Sund, the Capitol Police chief resigning after DC riots?". Fox News. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  5. "DC Police Vet Steven Sund Joins Noblis as Business Development Director; Pat Brosey Comments". ExecutiveBiz. January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  6. Peter Nickeas (February 6, 2021). "Former US Capitol Police chief details delays in aid and intelligence failures during assault on Capitol". CNN. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  7. "READ: Testimony from United States Capitol Police Captain Carneysha Mendoza". CNN. February 23, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  8. Salo, Jackie (January 6, 2021). "US Capitol building invaded for first time since War of 1812". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  9. O’Gorek, Elizabeth. "Officers "Shook to Their Core" from Capitol Battle, Says MPD Commander | HillRag". Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  10. Leonnig, Carol D.; Davis, Aaron C.; Lamothe, Dan; Fahrenthold, David A. (January 6, 2021). "Capitol breach prompts urgent questions about security failures". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  11. Gramenz, Jack (January 6, 2021). "Vision emerges of police moving barricades to allow rioters into US Capitol, taking selfies". News.com.au. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  12. Elis, Niv (January 6, 2021). "Capitol Police face heat following mob breach". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  13. McSwane, Logan Jaffe,Lydia DePillis,Isaac Arnsdorf,J David (January 7, 2021). "Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren't Ready". ProPublica. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  14. Graff, Garrett M. "Behind the Strategic Failure of the Capitol Police". POLITICO. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  15. Fitz-Gibbon, Jorge (January 7, 2021). "Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigns in wake of turbulent DC protests". New York Post. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  16. "Pelosi calls for resignation of Capitol Police chief". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  17. "Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund Defends Agency's Role In Jan. 6 Attack". 88.5 WFDD. January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  18. "Latest Updates: Capitol Officer Dies From Injuries Sustained During Riot". NBC Los Angeles. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  19. Date, Jack (February 6, 2021). "Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund says entire intelligence community missed signs of riot". ABC News. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  20. "US Capitol Police Name Acting Chief After Riot".
  21. "Executive Team". United States Capitol Police. June 16, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  22. "Ex-officials blame intelligence failure, red tape for botched response to Capitol attack". www.cbsnews.com.
  23. "Document Viewer : NPR". Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  24. Johnson, Kevin. "Ex-Capitol police chief: Pelosi's call for his resignation premature". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  25. "Capitol riot probe zeroes in on Pentagon delay in sending troops". POLITICO. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  26. "Michael Flynn's brother warned about 'optics' of sending uniformed troop response to Capitol siege, DC Guard chief says". Washington Examiner. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  27. Vittert, Leland (December 7, 2022). "Will we see the full Jan. 6 record? Ex-Capitol Police chief's book raises questions". The Hill. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  28. "As Capitol police became overpowered on Jan. 6, the Pentagon sent security to the homes of military leaders, per the former Capitol police chief". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  29. "Courage Under Fire: A Conversation with Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund". wacphila.org. Retrieved January 2, 2023.

Further reading
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