A second police officer who responded to the US Capitol riot died of suicide, DC Metropolitan Police Department acting chief Robert J. Contee told Congress on Tuesday.
Contee, testifying to the House Appropriations Committee, also described a “warm response” from the Army, which claimed to be concerned about the prospect of having boots on the ground and reluctant to send the DC National Guard, even when a violent mob invaded the protective measures in Capitol.
During the height of the incident on January 6, approximately 850 members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were on Capitol Hill to assist the US Capitol Police and, at the end of the day, an additional 250 MPD members were in the area directly support the response and consequences, Contee said.
CAPITOL POLICE EXCUSE, ADMIT INTEL’S SHOWED CONGRESS IN ADVANCE WAS A TARGET BEFORE INSURANCE
He also said that the department spent approximately $ 8.8 million during the week of the insurrection.
A total of five people lost their lives directly as a result of the January 6 invasion of the Capitol, including Capitol Policeman Brian Sicknick, who died in the hospital the following day from injuries sustained during “physical involvement” with protesters. In addition, two police officers – one from the DC Metropolitan Police, the other from the United States Capitol Police – “took their own lives in the aftermath of that battle,” said Contee.
Contee identified Jeffery Smith, an officer in the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), as the second member of the police to take his own life after responding to the Capitol riot.
On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters try to break a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Julio Cortez, Archive)
Smith was a 12-year veteran of the force assigned to patrol the 2nd District, an MPD spokeswoman confirmed to Fox News.
Contee also named Capitol Policeman Howard Liebengood, 51, who died of suicide on January 9.
Capitol Police did not initially disclose the cause of death in their statement announcing his death, but a family lawyer previously confirmed to the media that Liebengood took his own life and was on duty days earlier during the Capitol riot.
“We honor the service and sacrifices of officers Brian Sicknick, Howard Liebengood and Jeffery Smith, and offer condolences to all bereaved families,” Contee said on Tuesday.
TEXAS MAN STUCK IN DC WITH UNLICENSED PISTOL, OVER 80 ROUNDS AFTER TELLING THE COP THAT NEEDS INFORMATION ON OVAL OFFICE
According to his testimony, 65 MPD members suffered injuries documented in injury reports, but many more “did not even bother to report” additional injuries from assaults that included scratches, bruises, burns in the eyes of bear apples.
“People across the country and around the world were shocked and moved by the video of MPD officer Michael Fanone being beaten by a crowd of insurgents, including one holding an American flag, and of officer Daniel Hodges in agony as he was crushed between a door and a riot shield, “said Contee.
“His official colleagues at MPD and elsewhere are proud of his bravery in the face of this cruel and unprovoked attack. That bravery was matched that day by countless other unannounced MPD officers.”
Seven hours passed between the Capitol Police’s urgent request for help from the MPD and the resumption of work by both houses of Congress, a time that “will be indelibly recorded in the memory of every policeman who was at the place, as he is, without doubt, in the minds of elected officials, Congressional officials and other Capitol officials who were forced to seek security behind locked doors, “said Contee.
At 12:58 pm on January 6, former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund – who has since resigned – first requested assistance from the MPD. A violent crowd had already passed protection measures on Capitol Hill in an attempt to rise up when MPD officials arrived on the western front, Contee said.
MPD platoons worked to prevent protesters from entering the building and tried to establish a perimeter and, at 2:22 pm, Contee, as well as the leadership of the Capitol Police, the DC National Guard and the Army Department, called a summons to discuss the next steps.
“I was surprised by the warm response from the Army Department, which was reluctant to send the DC National Guard to the Capitol,” Contee told members of Congress on Tuesday.
“Although I certainly understand the importance of planning and public perception – the factors cited by the team in the call – these issues become secondary when you are watching your employees, far fewer than a crowd, being physically assaulted. to quickly deploy my strength and issue guidelines to them while on the field, and I was honestly shocked that the National Guard could not – or would not – do the same. “
Contee said he asked Sund for clarification if he was, in fact, asking for help from the National Guard and then asked US Army representatives on the call if they refused to send the Guard to help. Contee said: “Army personnel replied that they did not refuse to send them, but wanted to know the plan and did not like the look of boots on Capitol grounds.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
In the meantime, at around 2:30 pm, the District of Columbia requested additional officers from places as far away as New Jersey and issued a citywide emergency curfew notice starting at 6:00 pm. It took another three and a half hours for all the protesters to be removed from the Capitol.
Ninety minutes later, at 8 pm, the Congress resumed.