Officer praised as equally dedicated to job, family
William Evans’ death comes less than 3 months after riot
On Friday afternoon, hours after U.S. Capitol police officer William “Billy” Evans was killed in the line of duty, two of his fellow officers pulled into the quiet suburban Virginia neighborhood where he was often seen with his children.
They began unloading several plastic bags of supplies — including snacks and a rack of blue Gatorade — from the back of their black SUV and carrying the haul into Evans’s house, stepping across a tidy, grassy garden with two turquoise lawn chairs, angled slightly toward each other. Neighbors stepped from an adjacent home conferred in soft voices with the officers, asking what else was needed and how they could help.
Evans was among two officers injured when a vehicle rammed into them outside the U.S. Capitol, according to U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman. His death comes less than three months after the agency’s officers fought to protect lawmakers by clashing with a riotous mob that descended on the Capitol building in January, leaving one officer dead and scores of others injured.
On Friday, Pittman was forced to address yet another deadly attack at the Capitol complex — this one resulting in the death of Evans, who joined the force in 2003 and was a member of the first-responder unit.
“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the passing of Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans this afternoon from injuries he sustained following an attack at the North Barricade by a lone assailant,” Pittman said in a statement.
Evans was the sixth member of the Capitol police force to die in the line of duty, according to the department. The casualties include Officer Brian Sicknick, who died Jan. 7, one day after the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Capitol Police officers told a Washington Post reporter that the Evans family was having a difficult time and would appreciate being given space to mourn in private.
Bob Epskamp, who lives four doors down from the family, said he met Evans about 12 years ago. He recalled Evans talking fondly of his two young children, adding that he was a “loving and caring father.”