Gunther Hashida became the third police officer who responded to the U.S. Capitol riots to die by suicide. Hashida, a DC Metropolitan Police Officer (MPD) died nearly eight months after the attack in Washington, D.C. Capitol on January 6, 2021, his family announced.
Hashida died Thursday, July 29, 2021. He had a wife and three children.
Age
He was 44 years old.
Gunther Hashida Suicide
A third officer who protected the U.S. Capitol against a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6 has died by suicide; police confirmed Monday afternoon.
D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Gunther Hashida was discovered dead at his home on Thursday after taking his own life, the department said.
DC Metropolitan Police Officer Gunther Hashida, who responded to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, has taken his own life, the third policeman to die by suicide after facing the Jan 6 assault. He would have turned 44-yrs-old on Thursday, instead, his funeral is Friday pic.twitter.com/Rl59uRrhIT
— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) August 2, 2021
Hashida is now the third officer who protected the U.S. Capitol against a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6 who has died by suicide in the aftermath of the riot.
“We are grieving as a Department as our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Hashida’s family and friends,” MPD spokesperson Brianna Burch told The Daily Beast in an email.
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Before his passing, Hashida had served in the department for nearly two decades—joining in 2003 and dedicating himself to MPD’s Emergency Response Team within its Special Operations Division.
Wife And Children
Hashida had been married for 17 years to his wife, Romelia, a friend of the wife posted on Facebook. They had three children – two sons and a daughter. Their oldest was Victoria, followed by his namesake, Gunther Jr., and their youngest child, Josh, the post said.
Romelia Hashida, Gunther Hashida’s wife and mother of his three children shared a photo Sunday, August 1, 2021, after her husband’s death. The photo shows Gunther with his arm around his wife and Romelia leaning into him and smiling widely.
She captioned the photo with a poem, “I Only Wanted You”, by Hayley Foster.
Career
Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Kristen Metzger told CNN that Hashida was found dead in his home Thursday, July 29, 2021. He joined MPD in 2003 and was among those who responded to the U.S. Capitol riots. She told CNN.
“Officer Gunther Hashida, assigned to the Emergency Response Team within the Special Operations Division, was found deceased in his residence on Thursday, July 29,” she said, according to CNN.
“We are grieving as a Department, and our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Hashida’s family and friends,” the statement continued.
