Second D.C. police officer commits suicide following Capitol riot

A second Washington, D.C., police officer committed suicide following the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, according to a senior law enforcement official.

Metropolitan Police Department Officer Jeffrey Smith ended his life in the days following the siege at the Capitol, acting Chief Robert Contee told the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

Smith was a 12-year member of the force and assigned to the District's northwestern neighborhoods. 

His death is the second suicide of a law enforcement officer who defended the U.S. Capitol Building during the siege earlier this month.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood, who was an officer for 15 years, committed suicide in the days following the riot at the Capitol, where attendees of a pro-Trump rally and others invaded the building as lawmakers certified states' Electoral College votes to make Democrat Joe Biden the next president.

"We honor the service and sacrifices of Officers Brian Sicknick, Howard Liebengood, and Jeffery Smith, and offer condolences to all the grieving families," Contee said.

Sicknick died after injuries sustained during the riot.

More than 65 MPD officers were injured as a result of the riot. Contee said many more sustained injuries but did not report them. More than 850 officers were sent to the Capitol on Jan. 6, and an additional 250 were deployed in the area.