From News Nation:
“Congress,
police pay tribute to officer killed in Capitol riot”
Slain U.S.
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was honored Wednesday in the building he
died defending. Colleagues and members of Congress paid their respects
while Sicknick lay in honor at the Capitol, ahead of a ceremonial departure to
Arlington National Cemetery. Sicknick, 42, died after sustaining
injuries during the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The U.S. Capitol
Police said in a statement that Sicknick was injured “while physically engaging
with protesters,” though the cause of his death has not been determined. During
the turmoil on Jan. 6, Sicknick was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher
while protecting those trapped in the Capitol. Sicknick, an Iraq War veteran,
returned to his division office after the incident and collapsed, according to
Capitol Police. The next day, he died from his injuries.
President Joe
Biden traveled to the Capitol to pay tribute to Sicknick shortly after the
viewing began Tuesday night, briefly placing his hand on the urn in the center
of the Capitol Rotunda, saying a prayer and sadly shaking his head as he
observed a memorial wreath nearby. He was accompanied by first lady Jill Biden.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and a handful
of other congressional leaders also paid their respects. Vice President Kamala
Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, paid their respects Wednesday, placing
their hands over their hearts and then touching the urn. A steady stream of
lawmakers and police officers made its way through the Rotunda. Michigan Rep.
Dan Kildee, one of several Democrats who were caught in the upper gallery of
the House chamber while the rioters banged on the doors, wiped away tears. Because
of the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremonies will be open to invited guests
only. Sicknick is only the fifth person to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda,
a designation for those who are not elected officials, judges or military
leaders. The others who have lain in honor were John Gibson and Jacob Chestnut,
Jr., two officers who were killed in a 1998 shooting at the Capitol; civil
rights leader Rosa Parks, who died in 2005; and the Rev. Billy Graham, who died
in 2018.
Sicknick, from
South River, New Jersey, enlisted in the National Guard six months after
graduating high school in 1997, deploying to Saudi Arabia and then Kyrgyzstan.
He joined the U.S. Capitol Police in 2008. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced in a statement Friday that Sicknick
would lie in honor. In their joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer said: “On
behalf of the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is our great
privilege to pay tribute to Officer Sicknick with this lying-in-honor ceremony.
May this ceremony and the knowledge that so many mourn with and pray for them
be a comfort to Officer Sicknick’s family during this sad time.”
Sicknick’s
family released a statement Saturday, thanking the congressional leadership: “The
family of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick thanks the
Congressional leadership for bestowing this historic honor on our fallen
American hero. We also wish to express our appreciation to the millions of
people who have offered their support and sympathies during this difficult
time. Knowing our personal tragedy and loss is shared by our nation brings hope
for healing.”
^ He was a hero
who died protecting American Democracy and deserves all the honors our country
and our people can give. ^
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