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A second officer who responded to riots on Capitol Hill earlier this month died by suicide, the DC police chief revealed Tuesday evening.
Jeffery Smith had worked for the Metropolitan Police Department for 12 years and died on January 15 – just nine days after thousands of MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol.
“The service and presence of Officer Jeffrey Smith will be sorely missed in the Second District,” MPD Second District Commander Duncan Bedlion told the Daily Beast in an email. “My prayers are with his family during a very difficult time.”
Smith is the second police officer to kill himself after working on the Capitol on the day of the siege. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood, a 51-year-old man who had guarded the government building since 2005, committed suicide on January 9.
“My prayers go out to the family and colleagues of Agent Jeffery Smith,” California Rep Ted Lieu (D) wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
Another officer, US Capitol policeman Brian Sicknick, died in hospital on January 7 from injuries sustained “during physical contact with protesters.” Four pro-Trump insurgents also died during the siege, including a woman who was shot dead by police as she tried to break into the House bedroom, a 55-year-old Alabama who had a seizure cardiac, a Georgian woman who was allegedly run over in the crowd, and a Philadelphia man who suffered a stroke.
“We honor the service and sacrifice of Officers Brian Sicknick, Howard Liebengood and Jeffery Smith, and offer our condolences to all grieving families,” MPD Acting Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said during of his address to the House supply committee on Tuesday evening.
Contee said the MPD sent 850 police, nearly a quarter of its strength, to help protect the Capitol during the insurgency.
Sixty-five MPD officers reported injuries from the attack, and many more had injuries such as “scratches, bruises, eyes burned by a mass of bears – which they didn’t even have.” not bother to point out, ”he said.
Officer Liebengood worked in the Senate Division and was the son of the late Sergeant-at-Arms Howard S. Liebengood. “Each Capitol Police officer puts the safety of others before his own safety and Constable Liebengood was an example of the selfless service that is the hallmark of USCP,” said Gus Papathanasiou, chairman of the Labor Committee of the USCP. Capitol police, in a statement after Liebengood’s death. “It’s a tragic day.”
Former Senator John Kerry recalled Liebengood on Twitter, saying the officer kept a door near his office on the Hill. “Howie always had a smile on his face, but he also showed great care for the safety of the young employees who worked behind our office doors,” Kerry wrote.
The police response to the insurgency on Capitol Hill has been widely criticized. Although law enforcement knew about potential plans for violence in advance, they were unfortunately not prepared, and videos showed officers allowing rioters to enter the building. Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman apologized for the response on Tuesday, saying in a statement: “The department has failed to meet its own high standards as well as yours.
The Capitol Police Union sent out a fiery statement in response to Pittman’s admission, calling it “surprising” and saying his comments about the department’s preparation failures had “angered and shocked grassroots officers in the Capitol police ”.
“We have an officer who lost his life as a direct result of the insurgency. Another officer had tragically committed suicide. Between the USCP and our colleagues from the Metropolitan Police Department, we have nearly 140 injured officers, ”Papathanasiou wrote.
“I have officers who did not receive helmets before the attack and who suffered brain damage,” Papathanasiou said. “An officer has two cracked ribs and two broken spinal discs. One officer will lose his eye and another has been stabbed with a metal fence post. He called the fact that the leadership knew about the attack in advance, but failed to prepare adequately, “unacceptable”.
If you or a loved one is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK at 741741.
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