WASHINGTON - Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund on Thursday defended his department's response to the violent breach at the Capitol, saying officers "acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions" as they stormed the building.Rioters "actively attacked" Capitol police and other law enforcement officers Wednesday with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants, and took up other weapons against our officers,'' Sund said in a statement.The attack on the Capitol was "unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.,'' said Sund, a former city police officer. "Make no mistake: these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous.