More than a dozen police officers still on medical leave from Jan. 6 injuries

Over a dozen police officers injured during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol remain on medical leave, according to a report from CBS News. 

More than 150 law enforcement officers suffered injuries on Jan. 6 attack. Of those who reported injuries, 86 were Capitol Police officers and 65 were members of the Metropolitan Police Department. 

As of Thursday, at least 10 Capitol police officers had not yet returned to duty due to injuries, a source told the outlet. 

A spokesperson for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police confirmed to CBS that seven officers on the force remained on “less than full duty status” as of Friday due to injuries associated with the Capitol attack. 

On the day in early January, a group of former President Trump’s supporters marched to the Capitol with the goal of halting the congressional certification of the 2020 election results. Rioters broke through Capitol security, smashing windows and ransacking lawmakers’ offices. 

Capitol Police and D.C. Metro Police officers sustained injuries after rioters could be seen in bystander footage beating law enforcement with different objects and spraying chemical irritants. 

Chief Robert Contee said that more officers were also injured, enduring bruises, scratches and burns from chemical sprays, but “did not even bother to report” their injuries, according to CBS News.

Capitol Police Labor Committee Chairman Gus Papathanasiou told CBS that officers were also attacked and left with cracked ribs, smashed spinal disks and head wounds on Jan. 6. 

The late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died during the attack. Before his death, he suffered a blow to the head from a rioter. 

With so many officers on leave, police forces have been left understaffed. The Capitol Police force reportedly did not have “adequate resources” to investigate threats, according to a recent inspector general report. Another security review suggested that the force hire more than 1,000 new officers to curb the staffing shortages, CBS News reported.

Officers also suffered psychological trauma. D.C. Metropolitan police officer Mike Fanone wrote a letter last month detailing what he has endured since Jan. 6.

“[I] have struggled with many aspects of that day. As the physical injuries gradually subsided,” Fanone wrote, according to CBS News, “in crept the psychological trauma.”

The number of reported injures associated with Jan. 6 could reportedly increase, a congressional source told CBS news.

“Keep in mind that PTSD experienced by officers as a result can be reported as injuries after the fact so the number could go up,” the source said.