Second DC Officer who Responded to Capitol Riot Dies of Suicide

A second police officer who responded to the U.S. Capitol riot has died by suicide, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Robert J. Contee told Congress Tuesday.

Contee identified Jeffery Smith, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), as the second member of law enforcement to take his own life after responding to the Capitol riot, Fox reports.  

During the height of the incident on Jan. 6, approximately 850 Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) members were at the Capitol to assist U.S. Capitol Police, and by the day’s end, an additional estimate of 250 MPD members had been in the area to directly support the response and aftermath, Contee said.