Four Police Officers Responding To Jan. 6 Insurrection at US Capitol Have Committed Suicide
[guest post by Dana]
That four police officers who responded to the insurrection at the US Capitol have committed suicide is staggering:
Four law enforcement officers who responded to the Capitol insurrection have now died by suicide, a sobering toll which doubled on Monday, after Metropolitan Police confirmed two of the department’s officers who responded on January 6 recently took their own lives.
Officer Kyle DeFreytag served in the city’s 5th District and was at the Capitol to enforce curfew violations, Metropolitan Police confirmed. Chief Robert J. Contee III sent a message to the police force notifying personnel of DeFreytag’s death last month.
“I am writing to share tragic news that Officer Kyle DeFreytag of the 5th District was found deceased last evening,” Contee wrote in a mid-July message to the department. “This is incredibly hard news for us all, and for those that knew him best.”
The confirmation of DeFreytag’s death came hours after a spokeswoman for MPD said Officer Gunther Hashida was found dead at his residence last Thursday. Hashida, who joined the department in May 2003, was most recently assigned to the department’s Emergency Response Team.
Over 100 responding law enforcement officers sustained injuries while defending the Capitol and protecting members of Congress on Jan. 6.
How the police at the Capitol were viewed by a popular right-wing nutjob:
To @dineshdsouza and the others downplaying January 6th: you are disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/86bLnfACIf
— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) July 29, 2021
I think there are many Americans that view the officers responding to the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a vein similar to the execrable D’Souza. That day, officers at the Capitol were seen as fair game by any number of rioters. The difference being, of course, that D’Souza was the only one who was pardoned by then-President Trump. Back the blue, my ass.
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (174549) — 8/3/2021 @ 10:40 amI don’t know what a ‘normal’ suicide rate would be for that population, but 4 seems high. This is sad. I hope everyone who needs it gets the help they need.
Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:04 amusing their tragic deaths for political gain, when there is no evidence of any connection to jan6, is just as disgraceful
only one death is directly attributable to the actions on jan6: ashli babbitt
JF (e1156d) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:23 amThat day, officers at the Capitol were seen as fair game by any number of rioters.
Yes, tragic. And killed themselves at their own hand. Quite odd.
The cops were armed, right?! Ask Ashli Babbitt. Oh. Wait…
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:24 amThree months ago, I was sitting in an emergency room with my wife and our suicidal 7-year-old son. Three years ago, our autistic 10-year-old similarly suffered from suicidal ideation.
Suicide is an extremely complex issue, and there is almost never a single driving factor in it.
It should never be used to score political points, especially when it is mostly speculation about why someone committed suicide.
Often, even the person seeking out suicide doesn’t fully understand what’s driving them towards it. Our 7-year-old has claimed multiple reasons for why he wants to die, from not getting what he wants for a snack to the fact that he has been asked to wear clean underwear every day. Working with a therapist in the last few months, we’ve identified that he has sensory issues that make it hard for him to process stimuli from the world around him.
We simply don’t know what the driving factors were for these officers. Without knowing, their deaths should not be used to score political points.
Observer (8793d5) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:27 amIn the 2020 BLM/Antifa rioting…
More than half of major city law enforcement agencies (56%) experienced arson incidents. The individuals who committed these crimes targeted a variety of structures including government buildings, places of worship, and seemingly random stores and businesses. Law enforcement buildings and property were also popular targets. One agency reported dumpsters, trash cans, trees, furniture, and vehicles being set on fire. A UPS truck was reported as being looted and set on fire in another jurisdiction. In many cities, city hall, as well as other iconic public buildings and federal courthouses were targets of arson. Several agencies also had police precincts set on fire and hundreds of police cars were significantly damaged throughout the various protests across the U.S. One agency alone reported 300 police cars damaged to include 19 that were fully engulfed in flames.
Total Number of Acts of Looting, Arson, and Attacks on Police:
Looting Incidents – 2,385
Arson Incidents – 624
Police Cars Burned – 97
Police Officers Injured – 2,037
Types of Weapons Used
There were a variety of weapons used by protesters during acts of civil disobedience or violence. The most common weapons were improvised or weapons of opportunity such as rocks, bricks, pieces of landscape, and bottles (including frozen water bottles and glass bottles). More than three quarters of major city law enforcement agencies (78%) that experienced violent protests reported having officers attacked with these types of weapons. Another common violent tactic used by protesters involved throwing “molotov cocktails” at officers.12 One agency reported these incendiary devices being thrown at officers who were standing at their skirmish lines. In another instance, the devices were thrown behind officers, trapping them between the ensuing fire and a barrier built by protesters. This tactic was extremely dangerous and presented a high risk of death or injury to officers.
Rocks, bricks, and/or pieces of landscape
Bottles to include frozen water bottles and glass bottles
Fireworks to include those improvised to explode
https://majorcitieschiefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MCCA-Report-on-the-2020-Protest-and-Civil-Unrest.pdf
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:31 am#6
How many of those BLM/Antifa riot survivor officers have committed suicide?
There is something deeper to be known about the suicides of Capitol Police… and it may just be one of those clusters of things that happen. For example, I know three people that got Guillian Barre Syndrome in the same year and its a 1 in 100,000 event. One was living at my house, one is the wife of a guy I work with, and the last is a friend I visit with 2-3 times a year even though he now lives in CO. I do not know anywhere close to 100,000 people. Its a coincidence, but if I were to rely on my own anecdotal experience, I might think I’m the vector.
steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:55 amOn a side note, all three are not yet vaccinated for COVID because it is possible a vaccine could trigger a recurrence. They would rather get COVID
@5. We simply don’t know what the driving factors were for these officers.
True. OTOH, there’s a obvious common denominator.
It’s all so tragic- and a difficult burden to unravel. [We had a distant relative from Virginia who fought for the Confederacy, survived that entire hell, surrendered at Appomattox– signed a US loyalty oath — only to commit suicide several years later in an economic down turn. Imagine surviving the Civil War from start to finish- even Fredricksburg- then ending it all. Suicide is such a puzzle.]
But that aside, it’s reasonable to ask what kind of screening processes are involved in recruiting Capitol Cops. Blowhard Chris Matthews famously boasts about his gig as a Capitol Cop. Gotta wonder what qualifications he had for the gig to begin with other than his time in the Peace Corps.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:57 amI thought it was two. It’s 2 Capitol Police and two Washington DC Metropolitan Polce?
One committed suicide when he was ordered back to work about eight days after the insurrection and I think he hd sufferd traumatic brain injury. The military recognizes suicides (in a combat zone? anytime in the military? Something in between?) as combat related but the Capitol Police do not recognize this as job related.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/3/2021 @ 12:05 pmI don’t even want to comment on this thread other than to echo @2 and @5.
frosty (f27e97) — 8/3/2021 @ 12:15 pmContrary to earlier thoughts in months past, there’s a sense of similarities to the social strife experienced and observed back in 1968. It’s manifesting itself differently though- pressures on so many fronts; cracks and crumbling stresses rather than pockets of violence erupting– and there’s no ‘living room war’ going on. Chicago folks might recall the DNC riots in the streets between ‘insurrectionists’ and Dailey’s cops– televised as ‘the whole world was watching’ in August of ’68… Might be interesting to research and see if or how many Chicago policemen committed suicide in the months after that horrible havoc.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/3/2021 @ 12:47 pmI think the underlying cause of these suicides is not the insurrection itself, which must have been a traumatic event for all the officers involved, but rather the response by Republican leaders and Trump loyalists to the insurrection, which has been disgraceful.
Gawain's Ghost (ef1cde) — 8/3/2021 @ 12:52 pmObserver (8793d5) — 8/3/2021 @ 11:27 am
No, I would say he has sensory issues that make fresh clothes uncomfortable for him. Or that make him very particular as to food.
Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/3/2021 @ 1:02 pmSuicide rates are generally way up over the past 15 years….especially for Millennials….but disturbingly for young people too….which is just so tragic. Part of it I would suspect is social media related…..and how brutal people can be on line…..and some might be related to economic uncertainty (for Millennials). First with the housing market collapse….and now with the pandemic and isolation. But I also wonder if some of it is how people simply deal with stress and anxiety these days. Maybe culturally we are more hopeless…more negative…..more polarized….and it pulls people more readily into depression. There’s so much information out there…and so much of it is nasty and uninspiring. People still crave connection….and every day we should think of ways to make meaningful connections….
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 8/3/2021 @ 1:36 pm…..and some might be related to economic uncertainty (for Millennials).
Reaganomics Wreckage. Takes 30 years- if not more- to repair that kind of damage. And it never may be as the world keeps changing. History can rhyme; look at the Brits as their empire declined a century-plus ago– a whole generation hollowed out by WW1, too, w/WW2 a ‘crowning’ blow.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/3/2021 @ 2:21 pm“Reaganomics Wreckage”
SMDH. The only thing that can redeem this comment….is more cow bell.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 8/3/2021 @ 2:35 pmc’mon, man! “meaningful connections”…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/3/2021 @ 2:43 pmI feel bad for those officers injured in the line of duty. Anyone who attacked a cop should be prosecuted accordingly .
The R.A.P. is a leftist grifter group made up of some of the leftist Lincoln Trolls.
NJRob (7feeef) — 8/3/2021 @ 3:28 pmSuicide rates have skyrocketed since the lockdown.
NJRob (7feeef) — 8/3/2021 @ 3:36 pmAJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 8/3/2021 @ 1:36 pm
Agreed. Isolation and loneliness are far more common and destructive than people realize. Social media does not connect people. It increases isolation.
Connecting with people is really the only way to combat that.
frosty (f27e97) — 8/3/2021 @ 5:52 pm“c’mon, man! “meaningful connections”…”
Does someone need a hug?….I’ll give you a Cuomo
AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 8/3/2021 @ 8:04 pmAJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 8/3/2021 @ 8:04 pm
Maybe but no tongue and hands above hips.
frosty (f27e97) — 8/3/2021 @ 8:57 pm@16. Until you admit it, your slice of the party is doomed.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/3/2021 @ 9:29 pmIsolation and loneliness are far more common and destructive than people realize. Social media does not connect people. It increases isolation.
Nonsense. You’re more connected to the world today than ever– and can even communicate with people orbiting around it, 300 miles up.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/3/2021 @ 9:32 pm“You’re more connected to the world today than ever– and can even communicate with people orbiting around it, 300 miles up.”
Corporate BS for their atomized employees.
Thanks to no effective human presence on most of those connections to buttress the communication, the connections feel far more false and are far less psychologically rewarding, not to mention homogenized due to the hazards of online mob harassment. Social media was great as a supplement to normal human socialization, but as a substitute, and most horrifically as a normative environment to grow up in, it’s absolutely terrible.
Atom Tom (59d69a) — 8/4/2021 @ 6:50 am@25. Except it’s not. And it keeps ‘folks’ you’d rather not interact with at a distance. Unless you enjoy connecting with other ‘socializing humans’ like Jeffrey Toobin or Anthony Weiner. 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/4/2021 @ 2:01 pmhttps://www.npr.org/2019/02/26/697666644/5-chicago-police-officers-died-by-suicide-since-july-is-the-department-doing-enough
From 2/26/2019:
5 Chicago Police Officers Died By Suicide Since July [2018]. Is The Department Doing Enough?
How many committed suicide after the August, 1968 Chicago ‘insurrection’ rioting? Would be interesting data to dig up.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/4/2021 @ 2:06 pmThe “Republican Accountability Project” is a bunch of political consultants on the outs. Since their Lincoln Project has wrapped up they need a new vehicle for donations to ply their trade. Frankly, some of them are no more ethical than Trump and probably regret having burned their bridges to that money hose.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/4/2021 @ 11:49 pmD’Souza was the only one who was pardoned
A pardon that was correct then, and is still correct now. His prosecution had been political hackery.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/4/2021 @ 11:50 pmNorth American Man-Boy Lincoln Project, aka NAMBLP: “Grooming For The Future”
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/5/2021 @ 6:10 am