Off-duty Capitol Police officer dies in apparent suicide, three days after Wednesday’s riot

Published 12:11 pm Monday, January 11, 2021

A longtime officer with U.S. Capitol Police died Saturday while off duty in what’s being described as an apparent suicide.

The officer, Howard Liebengood, was 51.

Capitol Police did not reveal a cause of death for Liebengood in its announcement Sunday, but two sources told The Associated Press he died in an apparent suicide.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and colleagues,” reads a statement released by Capitol Police. “We ask that his family, and other USCP officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected during this profoundly difficult time.”

Leibengood’s death comes three days after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building, leaving five dead, including U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick.

Capitol Police did not say whether Liebengood’s death was related to Wednesday’s horrific incident, nor did the AP’s sources.

Liebengood, who worked on the Senate division, joined Capitol Police in 2005.

Sicknick, a responding officer during the insurrection, died from “injuries sustained while on-duty,” U.S. Capitol Police has said.

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