DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone is speaking out about the U.S. Capitol riot that occurred last week where Trump supporters stormed the building.
Speaking with CNN, Fanone talked about the moment he lay on the floor of the U.S. Capitol after being tasered several times in the back of the neck. Rioters stole the police officer’s badge, spare ammunition, and police radio.
Fanone said after being tasered, “Some guys started getting a hold of my gun and they were screaming out, ‘Kill him with his own gun.'”
“At that point, it was like self preservation, how do I survive this situation?” he said.
Fanone said he thought about pulling out his gun, but knew he was outnumbered and said it would give the rioters the idea to use his gun against him and the justification to kill him.
The police officer added, “So, the other option I thought of was to try to appeal to somebody’s humanity. And I just remember yelling out that I have kids. And it seemed to work.” He noted some people then circled him and offered him “some level of protection.”
He said of his thoughts on those who sought to help him, “Thank you, but f*** you for being there.”
Fanone has four kids and has been a police officer for roughly two decades.
Watch the video below:
"Kill him with his own gun."
— CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish (@CNNThisMorning) January 15, 2021
An officer describes what the rioters said in the moment he lay on the US Capitol floor after having been Tasered several times in the neck.https://t.co/beqHeODNH2 pic.twitter.com/3525YG4Rdh
DC police officer Daniel Hodges also spoke to CNN, where he described his experience during the riot. He was crushed by a door at the U.S. Capitol during the riot.
“There’s a guy ripping my mask off, he was able to rip away the baton and beat me with it,” Hodges shared. “He was practically foaming at the mouth so just, these people were true believers in the worst way.”
He also said, “You know things were looking bad. I was calling out for all I was worth, and an officer behind me was able to get me enough room to pull me out of there and get me to the rear so I was able to extricate myself.”
Hodges had no major injuries and may have had a minor concussion following the riot.
Daniel Hodges, the DC police officer who was crushed in a doorway at the Capitol speaks out saying a man ripped away his baton, and was "practically foaming at the mouth… true believers in the worst way." https://t.co/WWGvhbSnt5 pic.twitter.com/jUTkvTDsxT
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 15, 2021
At least five people died from the riot, including a police officer.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday, seeking to award Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman with the Congressional Gold Medal for “his bravery and quick thinking during last week’s insurrection,” as IJR reported.
Goodman “valiantly put himself in harm’s way, luring a violent mob away from an unguarded entrance to the Senate chambers, protecting Senators, staff, and reporters inside,” the press release reads.
Capitol staffers put up signs along the House tunnel to pay tribute to the police officers. Three of the top Capitol security officials resigned after the riot amid pressure to do so from lawmakers.
