The 51-year-old veteran Capitol Officer who took his own life on Saturday was among those who tried unsuccessfully to block rioters’ way as they swarmed the US Capitol Building on Wednesday.
A lawyer for Howard Liebengood’s family confirmed that the late officer was on-duty during the unprecedented insurrection that left five people dead.
“His death is a tragedy that has deprived all of us a dedicated public servant,” Att. Barry Pollack said. “His family has suffered a devastating loss and asks that they be given space to grieve in private.”
On Monday, a female Capitol officer surrendered her weapon over fears she would harm herself while struggling with the mayhem’s aftermath.
“The US Capitol Police has had to respond to “a couple of incidents” of officers threatening to harm themselves in the wake of the attack on Capitol Hill,” CBS’ reporter Michael Kaplan said.
“This includes a female officer who turned in her own weapon for fear of what might happen.”
A source gave reporters further explanation: “There’s tremendous moral injury, a sense of failure weighing them down.”
“They went home to family and were asked how did this happen, and it’s very easy for those officers to interpret that as ‘how could you let this happen?’”
