WASHINGTON – The head of the U.S. Capitol Police defended his department’s response to the storming of the Capitol, saying Thursday that officers “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions.” Washington’s mayor called the police response “a failure.”Chief Steven Sund, in his first public comment on the mayhem from Wednesday, said in a statement that rioters “actively attacked” Capitol police and other law enforcement officers with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants and “took up other weapons against our officers.”[TRENDING: 4 die in Capitol revolt | What you need to know about stimulus check | How to get the vaccine in Fla.]The siege, as the House and Senate were affirming.