Morgan State University alumna Yogananda Pittman has been chosen to serve as acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police. Her promotion is a result of the fallout from the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“In the wake of this past week’s horrendous and thwarted attack on the U.S. Capitol, I am pleased to announce that a decision was made to elevate distinguished and decorated Morgan alumna Yogananda D. Pittman to serve in the role as acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP),” Morgan State University President David Wilson shared in a statement. “This appointment is notable for our nation and our University, as she will be the first woman and first African American to hold the post of leading the USCP. We commend this wise decision as it is widely known that Morgan graduates are purposefully prepared to not only Grow the Future, but to Lead the World.”
Pittman graduated from Morgan in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. According to U.S. Capitol Police, she earned her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marist College in New York in 2019. She is pursing her Ph.D. in Public Administration from West Chester University.
Pittman joined the USCP force in April 2001, and her first assignment was to provide security and protective details for U.S. Senators and visiting dignitaries. She has since been promoted several times. First, in 2006, to the rank of Sergeant of the Department’s Communications Division. Second, in 2010, to the rank of Lieutenant to the House Division. Third, in 2012, she became one of the first Black female supervisors to attain the rank of Captain. At that time she supervised the President Obama’s 2013 Inauguration, and managed over 400 officers and civilians. Since, she has been promoted to Inspector in 2015, and Bureau Commander for the Command and Coordination Bureau in 2018.
In her new position, Acting Chief Pittman will be responsible for overseeing the U.S. Capitol Police’s laws and regulations, and ensuring that everything possible is done to prepare and protect the Capitol. On January 17 she will replace outgoing chief Steven A. Sund, who has resigned following the mayhem of the riot.
