‘I cried out in pain’: DC police officer Daniel Hodges recounts when he was crushed by rioters between a door on January 6
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Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges vividly recounted the physical abuse he faced while defending the Capitol on January 6 during a House hearing on Tuesday.
Hodges described the moment when rioters trampled the barriers of the Capitol and attempted to break into a building entrance, resulting in a viral video of him being crushed against a revolving door.
“My arms were pinned and effectively useless, trapped against either the shield on my left and the door frame on my right,” Hodges said. “With my posture granting me no functional strength or freedom of movement, I was effectively defenseless and gradually sustaining injury from the increasing pressure of the mob.”
“Directly in front of me, a man sees the opportunity of my vulnerability, grabbed the front of my gas mask and used it to beat my head against the door,” Hodges continued. “He switched to pulling it off my head, the straps stretching against my skull and straining my neck.”
Hodges added that the man ultimately succeeded in removing his gas mask, leaving the police officer exposed to chemical irritants sprayed by the rioters.
Another man then grabbed Hodges’ baton and “bashed me in the head and face with it, rupturing my lip and adding additional injury to my skull,” Hodges said.
Video footage and photos of the violent scene show Hodges stuck between the doorway with a bloody lip.
The rioters, whom Hodges repeatedly referred to as “terrorists,” then started “pushing their weight forward, crushing me further against the metal door frame,” Hodges continued.
“At this point, I knew I couldn’t sustain much more damage and remain upright,” Hodges said. “At best, I would collapse and be a liability to my colleagues. At worst, be dragged out into the crowd and lynched.”
Hodges then said he resorted to do “the only thing that I could do and screamed for help.”
His yells were eventually heard by another police officer who was able to extricate him from the position. Hodges said he found water to decontaminate his face and “soon after” went back to the fight.
The DC police officer was one of four law enforcement officials on Capitol Hill on Tuesday who testified before a House select committee that is investigating the January 6 insurrection.
Hodges recounted other instances from that day when the rioters attacked him, including one man who “latched onto” his face and “got his thumb” in Hodges’ right eye, “attempting to gouge it out.”
“I cried out in pain and managed to shake him off before any permanent damage was done,” Hodges said.