Capitol rioters told officer they wanted to ‘kill him with his own gun’
Officer Michael Fanone pleaded for his life, he said, as protesters-turned-rioters attacked him at the Capitol.
D.C. Metro Police Officer Michael Fanone pleaded for his life last week as fueled-up protesters-turned-rioters attacked him at the Capitol Building.
“Some guys started getting a hold of my gun, and they were screaming out, ‘Kill him with his own gun,'” Fanone said on CNN Thursday in an exclusive interview.
The 20-year department veteran revealed that rioters took his spare ammunition, his police radio and even stole his badge. Fanone also said he was tased several times in the back of his neck.
“We were getting chemical irritants sprayed,” he maintained. “They had pipes and different metal objects, batons, some of which I think they had taken from law enforcement personnel. They had been striking us with those.”
Fanone is a narcotics detective who usually works in plain clothes, he said, but last Wednesday, he was wearing a police uniform.
In his interview, Fanone said he considered using deadly force against the mob, but instantly realized that he would be quickly overpowered again, and that force would give the rioters “all the reason to end his life.”
Read More: Hundreds of Black U.S. Capitol officers alleged racism in lawsuits years before riot
“So, the other option I thought of was to try to appeal to somebody’s humanity,” Fanone said, “and I just remember yelling out that I have kids. And it seemed to work.”
The father of four said there was a group of rioters who protected him until other officers arrived. Of his rescuers, he told CNN, “Thank you, but f**k you for being there.”
Read More: Man accused of throwing fire extinguisher at Capitol police arrested
Fanone contended that he and his fellow officers were overwhelmed by the “the sheer number of rioters.”
“It was difficult to offer any resistance,” he said, “when you’re only about 30 guys going up against 15,000.”
The number of arrested alleged insurrectionists has grown longer every day since the Jan. 6 pro-President Donald Trump “Stop the Steal” rally and march morphed into a full-on Capitol siege.
Read More: Biden inauguration rehearsal postponed due to threats
A Pennsylvania man was arrested this week for striking a Capitol Police officer with a fire extinguisher, a member of the force not Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from his injuries after being hit with a fire extinguisher. The investigation into his death is ongoing.
Robert Sanford, 55, was arrested Thursday morning on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly or disruptive conduct on Capitol grounds; civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers while engaged in the performance of official duties.
More than 100 people have been arrested on federal charges in conjunction with the insurrection.
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