Yogananda D. Pittman is an American law enforcement officer serving as assistant chief of the

United States Capitol Police The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...

(USCP). She served as acting chief of the USCP from January 8 to July 23, 2021. Pittman's selection was made on January 8, 2021, following the

2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...

and resignation of

Steven Sund Steven A. Sund is a retired American police officer who served as the tenth chief of the United States Capitol Police from 2019 to 2021. Sund was chief during the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, after which he resigned. Educ ...

. Her term as acting chief ended at the time of the appointment of J. Thomas Manger.

Education

Pittman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

in 1999. She later earned a Master of Public Administration from

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

and is studying towards as

Doctor of Public Administration The Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.) is a terminal applied-research doctoral degree in the field of public administration (a part of public service). The D.P.A. requires significant coursework beyond the masters level and a dissertation ...

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

Career

She joined the Capitol Police in 2001. In 2012, Pittman was among the first black female supervisors to be promoted to the rank of captain in the Capitol Police. At that time, she was responsible for over 400 officers and civilian staff. The next year, she was in charge of the security planning for the

second inauguration of Barack Obama The second inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States was the 57th inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final term of Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president. A private swearing-in ceremony to ...

. During her tenure, Pittman has been assigned to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Division and most recently served as assistant chief of police for protective and intelligence operations. In 2020, Pittman received the Women in Federal Law Enforcement's Outstanding Advocate for Women award. Following the resignation of

in 2021, Pittman became acting chief of the Capitol Police. She is the first woman and first African American to lead the Capitol Police. On February 15, 2021 the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee, the union representing Capitol Police officers, voted 92% against Pittman in a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in her leadership. On December 5, 2022, the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

announced that Pittman would assume the role of chief of the Berkeley department of the UCPD, with her leadership beginning February 1, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittman, Yogananda African-American police officers Morgan State University alumni Marist College alumni United States Capitol Police officers American women police officers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women