Two More Officers on Duty During Capitol Riots Have Committed Suicide

Two more officers on duty during the January riot at the U.S. Capitol have taken their own lives, bringing the suicide total to four.

Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Kyle DeFreytag passed away on July 10th. His family confirmed that his cause of death was suicide, though they did not elaborate on how he took his life. The 26-year-old had been with MPD for five years and was on duty during the January 6th insurrection.

D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Gunther Hashida, an 18-year veteran, committed suicide just days later on Thursday, July 29th. The 43-year-old was just one week shy of celebrating his 44th birthday at the time of his passing, leaving behind a wife and three children. Hashida was one of many police officers to respond to the deadly Capitol riot that day, though his family has not attributed his death to the violence that took place. A GoFundMe account that his sister started has raised over $71,000 for his family.

DeFreytag and Hashida have become the third and fourth officers to commit suicide following the Capitol riot. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood, who was a 16-year veteran, killed himself on January 9th. Jeffrey Smith, a 12-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Officer, took his own life on January 15th.

Though the family’s of DeFreytag and Hashida have not publicly blamed their deaths on the revolt, the wife of Liebengood said that her husband was “severely sleep-deprived” following the riot. Smith’s wife also said that her husband “wasn’t the same Jeff that left on the 6th,” often finding him pacing the floors and refusing to talk to others after the chaos.

Dozens of officers were beaten trying to secure the Capitol as the angry protested Joe Biden was elected the 46th president.