Two police officers from Washington, DC, who were involved in the reaction to the riot in the US Capitol have committed themselves, according to their department, increasing the total number of police suicides in the aftermath of the disturbance to four.
Officer Gunther Hashida committed suicide in his home on July 29, according to the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), which added, "We are grieving as a Department as our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Hashida's family and friends." According to his obituary, he died one week before his 44th birthday.
In a Facebook post on Sunday night, the officer's wife, Romelia, also mentioned his death.
In a written statement, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described Hashida as a "hero" who "risked his life to save our Capitol, the Congressional community, and our very Democracy," adding, "May Officer Hashida's life be an inspiration to all."
Just hours after Hashida's death was verified, the MPD alerted a local CBS station that another officer, Kyle DeFreytag, 26, had committed suicide on July 10. It wasn't until Monday that the suicide was reported.
In a statement to the department last month, MPD chief Robert Contee said, "I am writing to share the tragic news that Officer Kyle DeFreytag of the 5th District was found deceased last evening." “This is devastating news for all of us, especially those closest to him.”
Hashida and DeFreytag, who joined the police in 2003 and 2016, respectively, are the third and fourth officers to die by their own hands during the event on January 6. Officers Howard Liebengood of the Capitol Police Department and Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department both committed themselves in the days following the disturbance.
Officer Brian Sicknick, a sixth law enforcement officer, died shortly after the uprising. While media accounts stated he died as a result of rioter injuries, medical examiners eventually confirmed he died of natural causes after suffering two strokes.
During the violence, four other protestors died, two of whom died of natural causes and one of whom died of a lethal drug overdose, while Ashli Babbitt, 35, was shot and killed by police near the House chamber inside the Capitol.
