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Steven Sund

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Steven Sund
Official portrait, 2019
10th Chief of the United States Capitol Police
In office
June 14, 2019 – January 8, 2021
Preceded byMatthew R. Verderosa
Succeeded byJ Thomas Manger (2021)
Personal details
EducationJohns Hopkins University (BS, MS)
Naval Postgraduate School (MA)
OccupationPolice officer, memoirist

Steven A. Sund is a retired American law enforcement official, author and public speaker who served as the tenth Chief of the United States Capitol Police from June 13, 2019, to January 7, 2021. He led the force during the January 6 Capitol attack, after which he faced widespread criticism for the perceived security failures of that day. However, a December 2024 interim report by the Subcommittee on Oversight of the 118th Congress concluded that Sund had “unfairly shouldered the bulk of the blame” and highlighted systemic failures across federal agencies. The report restored his reputation by exonerating him from sole responsibility for the security lapses[29].

Education

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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

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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, including the presidential inaugurations of 2001, 2005, 2009, and 2013.[3] Sund was the on-scene incident commander at the 2009 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting, the 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council, and the 2013 Washington Navy Yard shooting.[3] In addition, as Commander of the Special Operations Division he handled dozens of criminal barricades with a record of zero fatalities.[1][clarification needed]

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 major events planning and has taught Incident Command System as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University.[4]

Sund retired from the Metropolitan Police Department as Commander of the Special Operations Division.[1] Thereafter he worked for Noblis as the Director of Business Development for National Security and Intelligence.[1][5]

U.S. Capitol Police

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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]

Responding to the 2021 Capitol attack

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For broader coverage of this topic, see Law enforcement response to the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
January 6 United
States Capitol attack
Timeline • Planning
Background
2020 presidential election
and other causes
Related groups and persons
Participants
Notable people
Organizations
Law enforcement response
Aftermath
Biden inauguration
Investigations and charges
Corporate actions
Reactions
Impeachment and 2024 presidential election

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.[6] 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.[7][8]

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.[9][10][11][12]

Sund said in February 2021 that on January 3, he contacted House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul D. Irving and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael C. Stenger to request support from the D.C. 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".[13]

Resignation

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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. “The irony is that Sund, the man who did more than anybody to save the Capitol that day, was forced out in ignominy…” https://nypost.com/2024/11/24/opinion/tragic-ashli-babbitt-and-the-buried-jan-6-truth/

Aftermath

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On February 1, 2021, Sund sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi detailing the events leading up to and including January 6.[13] Sund provided a timeline for the aid he sought from local law enforcement agencies and D.C. National Guard units, and an accounting of the meetings he had after the perimeter had been breached while he sought assistance.[13] Toward the end of the letter, Sund acknowledged a breakdown in some systems, which he argued could nonetheless be rectified through provision of resources, training, updates to policy, and accountability. He did not specify which systems failed but pointed to the lack of intelligence, noting officials did not predict an armed assault on the Capitol.[13]

On February 23, Sund testified before Senate committees about the storming.[20][21] Sund later stated he regretted his resignation.[22]

On March 3, 2021, Major General William J. Walker, the commanding officer of the D.C. National Guard testified in a U.S. Senate hearing. His testimony supported Sund's account of events.[23] 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."[24] Within minutes of the call, the Capitol was breached.

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

External videos
video icon 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.[25][26][27] In the book, Sund highlights failures by several intelligence agencies to heed various warnings of the Jan. 6 attack.

In September 2023, Sund testified before the United States House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight. He argued that intelligence officials were responsible for the Capitol attack, and that they had neglected to properly share warnings about the potential of the event becoming violent. Republican members of the subcommittee indicated they felt Sund received disproportionate blame for the attack on the Capitol from political figures including Pelosi.[28]

In December 2024, the Subcommittee on Oversight of the 118th Congress released an interim report addressing the security failures of January 6, 2021. The bipartisan report concluded that former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund had “unfairly shouldered the bulk of the blame for the security failures of that day.” It emphasized that Sund’s reputation had been unjustly maligned in the immediate aftermath but was “restored” through the subcommittee’s investigation, which uncovered systemic failures and miscommunications across agencies, including the Pentagon and the D.C. National Guard.[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Executive Team". United States Capitol Police. June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020. Public Domain 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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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. ^ "READ: Testimony from United States Capitol Police Captain Carneysha Mendoza". CNN. February 23, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ O’Gorek, Elizabeth (January 13, 2021). "Officers "Shook to Their Core" from Capitol Battle, Says MPD Commander | HillRag". Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ a b c d 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.
  14. ^ a b 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. January 7, 2021. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  19. ^ a b 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. ^ "Ex-officials blame intelligence failure, red tape for botched response to Capitol attack". www.cbsnews.com. February 24, 2021.
  21. ^ "Document Viewer : NPR". Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  22. ^ Johnson, Kevin. "Ex-Capitol police chief: Pelosi's call for his resignation premature". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  23. ^ "Capitol riot probe zeroes in on Pentagon delay in sending troops". POLITICO. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ "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. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  27. ^ "Courage Under Fire: A Conversation with Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund". wacphila.org. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  28. ^ Adragna, Anthony (September 19, 2023). "A former Capitol Police chief labeled the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol "an intelligence failure."". Politico.

[29] https://cha.house.gov/_cache/files/6/d/6dae7b82-7683-4f56-a177-ba98695e600d/145DD5A70E967DEEC1F511764D3E6FA1.final-interim-report.pdf

Further reading

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