Union chief: ‘Many’ Capitol Police officers want to retire, quit

A growing number of Capitol Police officers are considering retirement or quitting the force in response to the deadly rioting on Jan. 6, the head of the union representing officers said. 

“Many officers that are retirement eligible are seriously looking at turning in their retirement papers. Since January 6th, several Officers have retired as a result,” Gus Papathanasiou, chairman of the United States Capitol Police Labor Committee, said in a statement released on Friday.

“I cannot tell you the number of younger officers who have confided in me since the insurrection who are actively looking at other police agencies or even new careers,” Papathanasiou said.

The union boss cited “a lack of trust in our leadership who clearly failed us on January 6th” and said other agencies “offer better working conditions and better retirement benefits” than Capitol Police. 

“If Congress wants to recruit and retain officers to meet the heightened security threat, they are going to have address both the leadership and quality of life issues driving officers to leave this department,” he added. 

U.S. Capitol Police leadership has been widely criticized for their response to the Jan. 6 attack, when supporters of former President Trump stormed the Capitol as a joint session of Congress met inside to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. 

Trump urged the mob to march on the Capitol and display “strength” as they voiced their displeasure with Congress and the election’s result. 

Several people died, including a Capitol Police officer, as a result of the chaos. Hundreds of people have been charged in connection with their participation in the rioting that day. 

The head of Capitol Police,  Steven Sund, announced his resignation the day after the incident. 

“The breach of the United States Capitol was not the result of poor planning or failure to contain a demonstration gone wrong. No single civilian law enforcement agency — and certainly not the USCP — is trained and equipped to repel … an insurrection of thousands of armed, violent and coordinated individuals focused on breaching a building at all costs,” Sund said in testimony before Congress last week.