New US Capitol Police Chief Takes Command In Wake Of Jan. 6

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Capitol Police officially named J. Thomas Manger as its new chief on Thursday, putting a veteran police official in charge of an agency still recovering from the events of Jan. 6 when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol complex.

The Capitol Police Board, the governing body of the Capitol Police, said it is confident in Manger’s experience and approach to protecting members of Congress and the Capitol’s employees, visitors and facilities. Manger will took over as chief of the Capitol Police on Friday.

Manger most recently served for 15 years as chief of police in Montgomery County, Maryland. On Monday, The Associated Press reported that Manger was to be named the new Capitol Police chief.

“The courage and dedication of the men and women of this agency were on great display on Jan. 6th,” Manger said in a statement Thursday. “It is now my job to ensure that they have the resources and support to continue to fulfill their mission in an ever increasingly difficult job.”

In its announcement Thursday evening, the Capitol Police Board thanked Acting Chief of Police Yogananda Pittman for her efforts over the last six months to enhance security around the Capitol complex and begin implementing lessons learned from Jan. 6.

Pittman was given the role of overseeing the 2,300-person force after former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned a day after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

After graduating from the University of Maryland, Manger began his law enforcement career in 1977 as a police officer in Fairfax County, Virginia. He rose through the ranks to become chief of police in Fairfax County, a position he held from 1998 to 2004.

As police chief in Montgomery County, Manger received the 2007 Law Enforcement Award from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the 2016 Gorowitz Institute Service Award from the Anti-Defamation League, and the 2018 FBI National Executive Institute Associates Penrith Award. Manger was also inducted into the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame in 2012.

Manger served from 2014 to 2018 as president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and from 2013 to 2017 as vice president of the Police Executive Research Forum, a consulting firm that counts police department across the country as clients.

Manger takes over a police department that was aware of the potential for wide-scale violence from Trump supporters on Jan. 6 but did little to prepare for it.

Capitol Police leaders learned that supporters of Trump were discussing ways to infiltrate tunnels around the complex and target Democratic members of Congress. However, top officials failed to act on the threats, according to a Senate report released in June that concluded intelligence and security failures contributed to the Jan. 6 attack.

The report also said that officers complained about a lack of leadership within the department as they tried to repel the attack, and that top leaders offered little help as officers pleaded for assistance.