Capitol riot
Four law enforcement officers have taken their lives after they responded to the Capitol siege on Jan 6.
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  • Officer Kyle DeFreytag is the fourth Capitol riot officer to die by suicide.
  • Three other officers who responded to the Capitol also reportedly died by suicide.
  • Officer Gunther Hashida was found dead on July 29, while officers Howard Liebengood and Jeffrey Smith died in the month following the Capitol insurrection.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A fourth law enforcement officer who defended the Capitol in the January 6 insurrection has died by suicide, said the Metropolitan Police Department.

Officer Kyle DeFreytag served in D.C.'s 5th district and was sent to the Capitol to enforce curfew violations, said the MPD, per news channel WUSA9.

DeFreytag was found deceased on July 10, sources told Forbes reporter Andrew Solender. He had served in the MPD for nearly five years, a spokesperson told Solender.

News of DeFreytag's death comes just hours after the suicide of another officer responding to the Capitol – officer Gunther Hashida – was confirmed by MPD on Monday. A GoFundMe page was started to raise $250,000 to support his family.

Two other officers who had been assigned to cover the riot that day died by suicide earlier this year.

Authorities confirmed the death of Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood on January 11, just days after the insurrection. He had worked at the Capitol since 2005.

"We are reeling from the death of Officer Liebengood," Gus Papathanasiou, the head of the Capitol Police union, said in a statement following his death. "Officer Liebengood was an example of the selfless service that is the hallmark of USCP."

Metropolitan Police Department officer Jeffrey Smith took his life in the month after the Capitol siege. Smith had been with the MPD for 12 years when he was hit on the head with a metal pole at the insurrection. His wife said that he had gone into a deep depression afterward, per The New York Times.

"When my husband left for work that day, he was the Jeff that I knew. When he returned after experiencing the event, being hit in the head, he was a completely different person," Ms. Smith said in an interview with the Times.

He died the day before he was scheduled to return to work for an overnight shift.

The MPD did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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