“Gunther Hashida, a member of the Rapid Reaction Division’s Rapid Reaction Team, was found dead in his home on Thursday, July 29,” said Kristen Metzger, a spokeswoman for the Washington Metropolitan Police.
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Shortly afterwards, police spokeswoman Makhetha Watsonon announced that a dead police officer, Kyle DeFreytag, had been found on Saturday, July 10.
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Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Police and Howard Liebengood, who served with the Capitol Police, also committed suicide. Their death was reported in a recent Senate report on security failures to protect the Chapter.
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It is not yet clear whether or how their suicides are related to the attack of Trump’s supporters on the Capitol on January 6, when the results of the November election, in which Joe Biden won, were officially approved. But USA Today quotes experts as saying that police and firefighters are at greater risk of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide than any other profession. In 2021, 18 American police officers committed suicide, last year there were 176 of them.
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The day after the attack, Brian Sicknick, a member of the Chapter’s police, also died of a heart attack.
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