Officer Howard “Howie” Liebengood was a proud Boilermaker, having studied history at Purdue University. He was a racing enthusiast, having grown up watching the Indianapolis 500. While at Purdue, he began racing go-karts and once competed in the Purdue Grand Prix. After college, he pursued a career in law enforcement, following in his father’s footsteps. His father, Howard Scholer Liebengood, served as Sergeant of Arms of the US Senate, that body's highest-ranking federal law enforcement officer. In 2005, Howard was sworn in as a US Capitol police officer, walking the same halls as his father.
On January 6, 2021, Howard was on duty when a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the electoral college vote. The US Capitol Police were understaffed and ill-equipped to handle the mob that stormed the Capitol building. After the riot had ended, five people had died, including one that was shot by police. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Damage to the Capitol exceeded $2.7 million.
Like many of his co-workers, Howard had worked three straight 24-hour shifts with little to no sleep. In the days after the attack, his family became increasingly concerned that it was affecting him psychologically. On the evening of January 9th, he told his family that he planned to quit and retire from the Capitol Police. That night he had dinner with his wife, Serena, which he barely ate. Over dinner, he told her he wanted to return to Indiana, although she didn’t think he was serious. She asked him if he had thoughts of harming himself. He said he did earlier that day but he was fine now. He went to bed early as he had to be up early for his morning shift the next day. Serena stayed up. Around 10:45 pm, she heard a loud noise from the bedroom. She rushed upstairs to find that Howard had taken his own life with his service weapon. Eventually, three other Capitol police officers would also die of suicide in the wake of the January 6 attacks.
Suicide is one of the major causes of death among first responders and is a major mental health issue. In 2016, Blue H.E.L.P started compiling suicide statistics of police officers, which expanded in 2019 to include all first responders and telecommunicators. Since 2019, there have been 894 suicides, with 198 of those in 2019, the most on record since statistics were kept. https://bluehelp.org/
Howard’s suicide meant that Serena nor his children would receive any death benefits under the Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) Program. The PSOB program, enacted in 1976 and administered by the US Department of Justice, authorizes payments to eligible survivors of officers killed in the line of duty. Survivors are entitled to federal death benefits in addition to whatever else their state and department award them. Children of fallen officers are also entitled to educational benefits. Serena would not see any of those benefits because suicide was not considered a line of duty death.
She soon discovered how much suicide affects the law enforcement community and the stigma associated with it. Suicide is a silent killer among police officers. Officers are afraid to talk about the trauma they face on the job, whether it is with a mental health professional, co-workers, or even their own family. Many departments don’t provide mental health services, leaving officers to their own devices. Suicide is also viewed as less worthy of recognition.
Serena set out to ensure Howard was viewed as a hero, not a coward. She reached out to Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), two men that Howard had befriended on Capitol Hill. That meeting would eventually lead to the passage of the Public Safety Support Act. The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Rep. David Trone (D-MD) in the House and co-sponsor Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in the Senate, would provide benefit coverage for first responders who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or acute stress disorder (ASD) after responding to a traumatic event. President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law on August 16, 2022. For the first time, suicide was recognized as being worthy of line-of-duty death benefits.
In addition to death benefits related to suicide, the legislation would also allow officers to file disability claims arising from personal injury associated with PTSD or ASD. The legislation was applied retroactively to January 1, 2019. The legislation also lays out different procedures if the death occurred within 45 days compared to more than 45 days. If the death is less than 45 days from the traumatic event, the PSOB requires evidence of all of the following:
- The public safety officer was exposed, while on-duty, to one or more traumatic events, as defined by PSOSA;
- The officer took an action intended to cause the officer’s death;
- The officer’s action was the direct and proximate cause of the officer’s death or permanent and total disability; and
- The officer’s action was not inconsistent with a psychiatric disorder.
If the death is more than 45 days, the PSOB requires all of the above, but the claim must show that the exposure to the traumatic event was a substantial factor in the officer’s action.
The PSOB defines a traumatic event as follows:
- a homicide, suicide, or the violent or gruesome death of another individual (including such a death resulting from a mass casualty event, mass fatality event, or mass shooting);
- a harrowing circumstance posing an extraordinary and significant danger or threat to the life of, or of serious bodily harm to, any individual (including such a circumstance as a mass casualty event, mass fatality event, or mass shooting); or
- an act of criminal sexual violence committed against any individual.
There has been an increase among departments to remove the stigma associated with mental health and suicide by providing mental health services to their employees. However, there is much more work to be done. Some departments have refused to assist in filing suicide claims as they don’t think it deserves recognition. Claims can still be filed even if an agency refuses to cooperate. Once the claim is filed, the PSOB will work with the agency to get the necessary information, using subpoena power, if necessary. Click here for FAQ about filing a claim
Three months after signing the legislation into law, the US Department of Justice recognized Howard Leibengood’s suicide as a line-of-duty death. It would be the first one to qualify under the new law. Serena and her children would now be allowed to file for death benefits through the PSOB. Serena has now turned her attention to adding her husband’s name to the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.
On March 15, 2024, the NLEOMF board voted to include suicide as a line of duty death. Cases that fall into this category will now be considered for inclusion on the Memorial in the spring of 2025. The NLEOMF will only consider suicides if they occurred on or after January 1, 2019, mirroring the legislation’s retroactive date. Since the NLEOMF is a nonprofit organization independent of the federal government, they have specific criteria for inclusion on the Memorial. Criteria for Inclusion Officers being submitted to the NLEOMF for suicide also have a different procedure from other line-of-duty deaths. Officer Data Form - Suicide
Robert Bowling
Robert Bowling is a retired police officer from Fishers (IN) and Durham (NC) police departments. In retirement, he has continued his passion to honor fallen officers. He is an Ambassador for the National Law Enforcement Memorial, as well as an historical researcher for the Officer Down Memorial Page. He also has a passion for history, focusing primarily on law enforcement history. He is a member of the Police History Society and is the author of the book Wicked Fishers. He currently teaches Criminal Justice for a local high school.
