New Capitol Police Chief Served In Montgomery, Fairfax: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — The former chief of police in Montgomery County, Maryland, will take over as chief of the U.S. Capitol Police in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection in which the police agency was not prepared for the mob of supporters of now-former President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol, according to news reports.

J. Thomas Manger, who most recently served for 15 years as chief of police in Montgomery County, was being named to the position following an extensive search, The Associated Press reported Monday. Prior to moving to Montgomery County, Manger served as chief of police in Fairfax County, Virginia, from 1998 to 2004.

Yogananda Pittman, acting chief of the Capitol Police, was given the role after former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned a day after the insurrection.

A University of Maryland graduate, Manger began his law enforcement career in 1976 as a "summer cop" in Ocean City, Maryland. He then served in Fairfax County before joining the Montgomery County Police Department. He retired from Montgomery County in 2019.

During his tenure, Manger received a number of national awards, including the 2007 Law Enforcement Award from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the 2017 Keeper of the Dream award from the National Immigration Forum, and the 2018 FBI National Executive Institute Penwith Award, according to a statement. In 2012, Manger was also inducted into the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame.

Manger will be taking 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 on Jan. 6 but failed to act on the threats, according to a Senate report released in June that concluded intelligence and security failures contributed to the 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.

Sund, the Capitol Police chief on Jan. 6, submitted his resignation the next day, only hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had called for him to step down.

Pittman, who had served as assistant chief of police for the Capitol Police's Protective and Intelligence Operations, was named acting chief of police on Jan. 8.