It was the first time that D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone was wearing his police uniform in nearly a decade. Fanone, a narcotics detective usually works in plain clothes, but on January 6, him and his partner decided to suit up for the first time to defend the Capitol against supporters of Donald Trump storming the building intent on delaying the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
But, the officer who said he’d rather be shot than be pulled into a crowd where he had no control, was suddenly living his nightmare.
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When officers managed to push the rioters out of one of the entry points, one of the rioters managed to grab him from the line of officers and drag him out into the crowd alone where they beat him with his baton and flag poles, tased him several times in the back of his neck, ripped his police radio off his chest, stole his badge and took a spare ammunition.
Then he heard the crowd chanting “kill him with his gun”.
That’s when he went into survival mode. He held on to his gun and he considered using deadly force, he recalls. But, he knew that it wasn’t enough and the crowd would overpower him again only this time they would have a reason to kill him.
“I probably shoot a couple, and then they’re going to take the gun away and kill me,” he said.
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So, he decided to appeal to their humanity. He thought of his four daughters and remembers yelling “I have kids!”. That worked, some of the rioters circled him and kept him safe until his partner came to his rescue.
For the rioters who protected him, Fanone said, “Thank you for that. But fuck you for being there! The only person I credit with saving my life is Jimmy Albright [his partner].”
Fanone spent a little over a day in the hospital. He said the attack brought on a “mild” heart attack. He’s currently on sick leave, but said there’s no way that will stop him from returning if he’s needed again.
Watch Officer Fanone tells his story.
