United States: Four police officers who responded to the assault on the United States Capitol committed suicide | International

The District of Columbia Police Department (home to the city of Washington) reported on Monday that two police officers who responded to the Jan.6 assault on Capitol Hill committed suicide last month. The number of officers who committed suicide after responding to the attack by supporters of Donlad Trump has reached four. The Congressional commission of inquiry into the event, which began work last week, looked into the psychological consequences of the officers who worked that tragic day. “What we all went through that day was traumatic,” Officer Harry Dunn told the committee last Tuesday, and “there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking professional help,” a- he added.

Gunther Hashida, 43, an agent for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), was found dead at his home last Thursday. Hashida had been assigned to the Emergency Response Team within the Special Operations Division of the Police Department, which he joined in 2003. “We are in mourning as a department. Our hearts and hearts go out to the family and friends of Agent Hashida, ”MPD spokeswoman Kristen Metzger said in a statement.

Just hours before reporting Hashida’s death, police reported that Constable Kyle DeFreytag, 26, committed suicide on July 10. The young man was an agent for five years. The MPD reported that on January 6, DeFreytag was one of those responsible for enforcing the Washington curfew and guarding the Capitol after the crowd of Trump supporters had already withdrawn. A total of 140 officers were wounded that day and four people died as a result of attacks that circulated around the world.

The news of DeFreytag and Hashida’s deaths came a week after four officers testified before the House committee about their experiences during that violent day. “This is how I’m going to die defending this entry,” thought Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, of the body that protects Congress, amid the scuffle. “Never in my life have they called me a nigger wearing this uniform,” Dunn told a committee of seven Democratic MPs and two Republicans whose task it is to investigate the facts and causes of the assault. , outside of court inquiries. , and make recommendations to law enforcement agencies.

The two new deaths announced come on top of those of Jeffrey Smith, who served as a police officer for 12 years, and Capitol Officer Howard Liebengood, who committed suicide in January after the assault. A recent Senate report on the security breaches that prevented the arrest of the Trumpist mob lists Smith and Liebengood among those who “ultimately lost their lives” in the Capitol uprising. The Justice Department has indicted more than 550 people linked to the violent protests against the ratification of the presidential election result that gave Joe Biden the victory, but who, encouraged by Trump, alleged without evidence that a fraud had occurred. .

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