Police Officer Suicides after the Capitol Riot
David Lester
On January 6, 2021, hundreds of people, urged on by Donald Trump, stormed the United States Capitol in Washington DC to prevent congress from certifying the election results. The Capitol and Metropolitan police departments were unprepared for this attack. The Capitol was breached, and massive damage occurred. The police officers there managed to protect the senators and members of congress from harm. However, the police officers were assaulted. During the riot, about 140 police officers were injured and, afterwards, 15 officers were hospitalized. So far, four police officers involved in protecting the Capitol have died by suicide. Only limited information is available on these four individuals.
Capitol Police Officer Howard
Liebengood on January 9. He was 51 and a 16-year veteran of the department. He
was married and had been a racing car driver before joining the Capitol Police.
Liebengood looked up to his father, Howrd S. Liebengood Sr., who served from 1981 to 1983 as Senate sergeant at arms,
charged with ensuring security in the Capitol and Senate buildings, as well as
protecting members of the Senate. After the riot, Liebengood was assigned to
lengthy shifts for the next three days and became sleep deprived. He killed
himself after the third shift.
Washington DC police officer Jeffrey Smith died by suicide by suicide on January 15. He was 35 and a 12-year veteran of the department. He shot himself with his service revolver in his car on the George Washington Parkway after being ordered back to work. At the riot, he was punched and hit in the head with a flying metal object (a metal pole). In subsequent days, he was assigned to guard a hotel, but he refused to remove his helmet for fear of being hit in the head. His sergeant sent him to the Police and Fire Clinic where he was prescribed ibuprofen and sent home. At the follow-up a week later (on January 14), there was no assessment made of his mental state. Smith had no history of depression or mental illness prior to the riot.
Washington DC police officer Kyle DeFreytag died by suicide on July 10. He was 26 years old and had been on the force for four years (since 2016) and was assigned to the department’s Emergency Response Team within the Special Operations Division. An online obituary for DeFreytag said he “liked hiking, camping, riding his motorcycle, he liked traveling and playing the drums, he enjoyed trying different ethnic foods and always knew the best places to eat…..Kyle was kind, he had a quick wit and a great sense of humor & kept us laughing for 26 years.”
Washington DC police officer Gunther Hashida, an 18-year veteran of the Washington DC department (since 2003), died by suicide at his home on July 29. Hashida was a Japanese American, with Japanese and German heritage. He had served in the military before becoming a police officer. He was 43 years old (almost 44), married (for 17 years) with three children. His wife was a licensed practical nurse who worked in oncology. He was assigned to the department’s Emergency Response Team within the Special Operations Division.
Speculations on These Suicides
There is very little information available on these four men and, therefore, we can only speculate about the causes of their suicides. Those responding to the attack reported physical abuse and racial slurs. The officers responding to the attack have reported severe psychiatric symptoms since the riot.
"Four law enforcement officers testified last week about their harrowing, and in some cases, near deadly experiences responding to the riot. “That day continues to be a constant trauma for us literally every day, whether because [of] our physical or emotional injuries or both,” Capitol Police sergeant Aquilino Gonell told a select committee investigating the attack." (Solender, 2021)[1]
It is clear that most of the police officers involved in the riot control have experienced full PTSD or symptoms of PTSD, a risk factor for suicide.
The police departments appeared to have had no provision for providing counselling and other treatments for their officers under stress. Ibuprofen is not a treatment for suicide risk! Hopefully, the departments have learned from this experience.
Only one report of the method used for suicide was found. Jeffrey Smith used a gun and was away from home. That is a typical scenario for police officers who die by suicide. (Car crashes are another common method.)
Hashida died by suicide at home, and the location of the other two suicides has not been reported. The location of the suicide is important. If Hashida, and perhaps the other two officers, died by suicide at home, then they would be discovered by their wife or children. If they shot themselves, then the scene would be extremely traumatic. (Hanging would also create a traumatic scene.) It is, therefore, interesting to ask (but not easy to answer for these particular suicides) why they chose to subject their family members to this trauma.
A final thought. Veterans who have
served in wars and other military operations are known to have a high suicide
rate after they return home. However, their suicide risk extends for years
after their return. These four suicides occurred soon after the riot, two in
fact within nine days of the riot. This high risk so soon after the traumatic
experience is noteworthy and important to know for those involved in suicide
prevention.
[1] www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/08/03/fourth-police-officer-who-responded-to-capitol-riot-dies-by-suicide/?sh=659ed9217d5b
