Two police officers,
who defended the US Capitol Hill during the January 6 riot, have reportedly
committed suicide.
According to the Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police
Department (MPD), Gunther Hashida killed himself on July 29, while Kyle
DeFreytag, another officer, was found dead on July 10.
According to CNN, Hashida
was said to have helped secure the Capitol Hill during the January 6 riot as
part of the emergency response team within MPD’s special operations division
after a mob invaded the building.
The 26-year-old DeFreytag was deployed to protect the Capitol after police cleared the building of rioters, and was involved in enforcing a curfew.
According to police authorities, four officers have now
committed suicide in the aftermath of the riot.
“Officer Gunther Hashida, assigned to the Emergency Response
Team within the Special Operations Division, was found deceased in his
residence on Thursday, July 29,” Kristen Metzger, Metropolitan police
department spokesperson, was quoted to have said.
“We are grieving as a Department and our thoughts and
prayers are with Officer Hashida’s family and friends,”
Hashida is said to have joined the police force in 2003,
while DeFreytag had been with the department since November 2016.
Jeffery Smith and Howard Liebengood, officers who also
responded to the insurrection, both reportedly died by suicide in January.
Brian Sicknick, another Capitol police officer, was said to
have suffered stroke and died of natural causes a day after responding to the
attack.
More than 500 people have reportedly been charged by the
Justice Department in connection with the insurrection.
During a hearing before the panel in July, Harry Dunn,
Capitol policeman, delivered an emotional plea to officers who defended the
Capitol to seek professional help if they need it.
On January 6, a mob had stormed Capitol Hill while Congress
was sitting to verify Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election.
Just before the invasion of the Capitol, former US President
Donald Trump, who refused to concede defeat to Biden, had addressed a crowd of
his supporters, and urged them to march to the congress and take back their
country.
The riot had led to the death of five people, while several
others, including members of the MPD, were injured.
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