Fourth cop who defended the Capitol on January 6 takes dies by suicide

A fourth police officer who helped defend the United States Capitol building during the January 6th riots has taken his own life.

WUSA 9's Mike Valerio reports that Metropolitan Police Department Officer Kyle DeFreytag died by suicide. The news was reported just hours after news broke that fellow MPD Officer Gunther Hashida had taken his own life.

Earlier this year, 51-year-old U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard "Howie" Liebengood and MPD Officer Jeffrey Smith, both of whom responded to the January 6th Capitol riots, took their own lives.

Additionally, former United States Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick suffered a fatal stroke after he collapsed at the Capitol in the hours after the riots.

(Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly claimed that Kyle DeFreytag had died hours after a fellow officer dies had taken his own life.)