Vote totals varied for each boss, but each of the seven – acting Chief Yoganada Pittman, two assistant chiefs, three deputy chiefs, and a captain in the division who staffs the Capitol Building – were found not to have the confidence of rank-and-file administrators. according to two sources who shared the vote totals with CNN.
Voting on the matter began Thursday afternoon and took 24 hours for the votes to be drawn, giving three-shift officers the opportunity to vote at work. Voting was limited to members represented by the union representing regular officers.
Gus Papathanasiou, chairman of that union, declined to comment on Friday evening.
“It’s been a little over a month since one of our country’s darkest days, and the trauma is still incredibly raw and difficult for the many officers who fought heroically on the 6th,” Pittman said in a statement. “Since my inauguration on January 8, my board team and I have made the welfare of our officers our top priority. While progress has been made, more work remains. And I am committed to ensuring that every officer gets what he needs and needs to earn.”
The vote comes after officers recently told CNN that intelligence and operational errors have left them vulnerable to the Jan. 6 attack, saying they are concerned that the current leadership will be unable to manage future incidents.
Officers have described CNN unrest both on the day of the uprising and in the weeks that followed.
Former Chief Steven Sund resigned after the uprising. The Sergeants-at-Arms of the US House and Senate, each of which has some oversight of the department, also resigned.
After the union planned a vote of no confidence, the officers’ outrage over the timing forced the union to postpone a vote until this week. It was scheduled for the same week that Sicknick was in the Capitol in honor.
A vote of no confidence is one of the most hostile actions the union can take to express dissatisfaction with leadership. The move hints at USCP officers’ deep frustrations with management and sends the loudest messages agents can send as a unified group.
According to an email received by CNN to members of the department late Tuesday, Pittman told officers that the vote illustrates “the sentiment and concerns of some of our officers.”
“We all know how difficult the struggle and sacrifice can be for ourselves and our loved ones,” she wrote. “In these difficult times, it is important to remember that we are also a family. We are more united versus divided together.”