A U.S. Capitol Police officer died Thursday night after suffering injuries when a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol a day before. Capitol Police said in a statement that Officer Brian D. Sicknick, a member of the department’s First Responder’s Unit who joined the force in July 2008, died at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET Thursday “due to injuries sustained while on-duty.”
Sicknick, according to USCP, “was injured while physically engaging with protesters” who stormed the Capitol building amid the certification of Electoral College votes Wednesday afternoon. The USCP said Sicknick returned to his division office, where he collapsed. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. His death is being investigated by the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide branch, the US Capitol Police and their federal partners.
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“The entire USCP Department expresses its deepest sympathies to Officer Sicknick’s family and friends on their loss, and mourns the loss of a friend and colleague,” a USCP spokesperson said in a statement, requesting privacy for Sicknick’s family and his fellow USCP officers.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser shared her condolences on Twitter, writing, “May he Rest In Peace, and we work tirelessly to honor his service to the Congress and our nation.” House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro and Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee Chairman Tim Ryan in a joint statement said, “this tragic loss should remind all of us of the bravery of the law enforcement officers who protected us, our colleagues, Congressional staff, the press corps, and other essential workers yesterday,” The Hill reported. The statement added, “to honor Officer Sicknick’s memory; we must ensure that the mob who attacked the People’s House and those who instigated them are held fully accountable.”
Sicknick was one of at least five people to die due to Wednesday’s riots, which many lawmakers describing it as an “insurrection” incited by Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the results of the 2020 election. Capitol Police fatally shot an Air Force veteran who was among the mob that made it into the Capitol building. Three other people – Benjamin Phillips, 50, of Pennsylvania; Rosanne Boylan, 34, of Georgia; and Kevin Greeson, 55, of Alabama, according to Fox News – died after suffering “medical emergencies.” More than 50 officers were injured and 15 hospitalized as a result of the riot. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has since resigned after facing criticism over the department’s response.
