Police Officer Who Responded to Capitol Riot Commits Suicide

A police officer who responded to the Capitol riot on January 6 has died by suicide. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department confirmed this, and the police officer was identified as Gunther Hashida.

According to The Hill, an emailed statement from the police department noted that Gunther Hashida was found dead at his home on Thursday, July 29.

The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, through its spokesperson Brianna Burch, offered its thoughts and prayers to Hashida's family and friends.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also offered her condolences to Hashida's loved ones. She said the police officer was a hero who risked his life to save the Capitol, the Congressional community, and democracy.

Gunther Hashida was assigned to the emergency response team within the Special Operations Division of the Metropolitan Police Department at the time of his death, CNBC reported.

A crowdfunding page was set up to pay for a memorial service for Hashida. The page has managed to raise $14,000 from over 130 donors as of Monday afternoon, August 2.

Gunther Hashida was the third police who protected the Capitol on January 6 from the mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump, who committed suicide after the event.

Gunther Hashida, 2 Other Police Officers Died by Suicide After the Capitol Riot

A 17-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police, officer Howie Liebengood, and a 12-year veteran of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, officer Jeffrey Smith, also died by suicide within a month of the Capitol riot, USA Today reported.

Liebengood died by suicide a few days after he helped with the riot control on the January 6 attack. His widow was calling for reforms in the U.S. Capitol Police in light of her husband's death.

Serena Liebengood noted that her husband was ordered to remain on duty and was practically around the clock for three days after the insurrection. She added that he was severely sleep-deprived before his death on January 9, CBS News reported.

Serena said the Liebengood family wanted Howie's death not to be in vain and called the U.S. Capitol Police to be held accountable for its actions. She also noted that the department should have structural reforms instituted to address the mental health of its officers.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Smith was also one of the officers that died by suicide after the Capitol riot. He was hit in the head with a metal pole during the insurrection.

Smith's wife, Erin Smith, said he appeared to have been under deep depression after the incident, The New York Times reported. Smith was ordered back to work eight days after the incident. However, he did not make it to his duty after shooting himself with his service firearm inside his car.

He became the second officer to take his own life in the Capitol riot aftermath. His widow was preparing to petition the Police and Firefighters' Retirement and Relief Board to designate her husband's death as a death in the line of duty.

The said designation provides greater financial benefits and with more dignity, according to Erin. Erin noted that when her husband left for work on January 6, he was still the same person she knew. However, when he returned, Erin said he was a completely different person.

She added that she believes that he would still be around if he did not go to work that day. Executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, Jim Pasco, said the union would be aiming for a change in the law to allow the federal death benefit to be awarded in job-related suicides.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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