Prosecutors open a murder inquiry into the death of Capitol police officer
FEDERAL prosecutors yesterday launched a murder investigation into the death of a US Capitol Police officer, who died after being struck on the head with a fire extinguisher during a struggle with pro-Donald Trump rioters.
Brian Sicknick (42), a former staff sergeant with the New Jersey Air National Guard, died from his injuries on Thursday evening after being treated in hospital.
Mr Sicknick was only the fourth member of the force to be killed in the line of duty since its founding two centuries ago, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Nancy Pelosi, US House Speaker, ordered flags over the Capitol to be flown at halfmast in his honour.
Hundreds of colleagues lined the streets of Washington DC as his body was transported to the morgue.
Jeffrey Rosen, acting US Attorney General, said the Justice Department “will spare no resources in investigating and holding accountable those responsible” for the death of Mr Sicknick.
The chief of the US Capitol Police (USCP) stepped down on Thursday after being told to resign by Ms Pelosi and amid claims the force was deliberately under-supported to avoid inflaming tensions with Trump supporters in what might have been perceived as bad optics.
More than 50 Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers were injured at the ‘Save America’ rally, where many in the crowd were seen waving ‘Blue Lives Matter’ flags, purporting to support the police.
Several other top politicians called for an investigation into how the violent mob was able to gain entry to the Capitol.
Ted Cruz, one of the Republican senators whom Democrats blame for stirring up the chaos by opposing the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, called Mr Sicknick a “true hero”.
“Yesterday’s terrorist attack was a horrific assault on our democracy. Every terrorist needs to be fully prosecuted,” he wrote on Twitter.
Senator Ben Sasse called the news “gut-wrenching”. “None of this should have happened,” Mr Sasse said in a statement.
50 police officers were injured at the ‘Save America’ rally
“Lord, have mercy.”
Other Republicans alluded to the president’s role in inciting the events which led up to the storming of the Houses of Congress on Wednesday.
“This is incredibly tragic, needless, and stems from lying leaders,” tweeted Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
US Capitol Police issued a statement, saying: “Officer Sicknick joined the USCP in July 2008, and most recently served in the department’s first responder’s unit.
“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.”
The New Jersey National Guard said it “was saddened by the loss”.
It said Mr Sicknick joined in 1997 and deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1999 in support of Operation Southern Watch and in Kyrgyzstan in 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He later became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war.
His social media pages suggest that he was a supporter of Mr Trump.