Capitol Officer Describes His Experience During Jan. 6 Riot

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn recalls gasping for air through the pepper spray and bear mace, blood on his knuckles and the relentless noises from the rioters on Jan. 6 during the breach of the Capitol Building. He soon found himself in tears, being consoled by a fellow officer who asked him what had happened amidst the chaos.

"’I got called a [N-word] a couple dozen times today protecting this building,’” Dunn recalled telling his colleague. “Is this America? They beat police officers with Blue Lives Matter flags. They fought us, they had Confederate flags in the U.S. Capitol.”

Dunn is a 13-year veteran in the U.S. Capitol Police Department. Speaking only for himself and not the department, Dunn is the first U.S. Capitol Police officer to speak publicly about the events of Jan. 6, ABC News reports.

Dunn praised his fellow officers, including officer Brian Sicknick, who died during the insurrection -- describing him as a “brave” and “dedicated officer. Dunn also praised Officer Eugene Goodman, whose heroics were caught on camera that day.

“There were dozens of Eugene Goodmans that day,” said Dunn. “Eugene got caught on camera and I'm not surprised that he did the right thing, the brave thing, the heroic thing -- there were so many Eugene Goodmans that weren't caught on camera that day. … and I'm proud to work with all of them.”