A third police officer who defended the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack has taken his own life, according to media reports.
Gunther Hashida, who joined the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in 2003, was found dead in his home Thursday, according to a statement from the department.
''Officer Gunther Hashida, assigned to the Emergency Response Team within the Special Operations Division, was found deceased in his residence on Thursday, July 29,'' department spokesperson Kristen Metzger told CNN in a statement.
''We are grieving as a Department as our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Hashida's family and friends,'' Metzger said.
The other two officers — Jeffrey Smith and Howard Liebengood — also died by suicide. Smith, a 12-year veteran of the Metro Police Department, killed himself in late January. Liebengood, who joined the Capitol Police in 2005, took his own life three days after the attack.
''When my husband left for work that day, he was the Jeff that I knew,'' Smith's widow, Erin, said in an interview. ''When he returned after experiencing the event, being hit in the head, he was a completely different person. I do believe if he did not go to work that day, he would be here and we would not be having this conversation.''
Nearly 140 D.C. and Capitol police officers were injured on Jan. 6.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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