A second police officer who responded to the Jan. 6 attack on the nation’s Capitol has died.
The officer was identified as Jeffrey Smith, a 12-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department. He was injured while trying to contain the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, according to Metropolitan Police Department acting Chief Robert Contee.
“That was a very sad and tragic situation for us,” Contee said during a press conference on Wednesday. “He had been injured as a result of the confrontation that had occurred at the Capitol and a couple of days after that, the officer, he took his life.”
Smith was on his way to work on the George Washington Parkway when he took his own life, Contee said.
He is the second officer to die by suicide since the Capitol attack and the third overall. Howard Liebengood, a Capitol Police officer, also died by suicide after being on duty at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died in the hospital after he was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher as rioters storm the Capitol.
At least 65 MPD officers were injured while responding to the attack, Contee said during a testimony in the House on Tuesday.
Capitol Police officers’ union chairman Gus Papathanasiou said about 140 officers total between the U.S. Capitol Police and MPD were injured, some very seriously.
“I have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained brain injuries. One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs. One officer is going to lose his eye, and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake,” Papathanasiou said, according to the Hill.
