Crédito: fuente
U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick has died after being injured when Trump supporters rioted and raided the Capitol building.
USA TODAY
The U.S. Capitol Police officer who died Thursday from injures he suffered during the pro-Trump riot that breached the U.S. Capitol, was both a veteran and war critic, and the youngest of three sons from New Jersey.
Brian D. Sicknick, 42, was a South River native who served in the New Jersey Air National Guard, but later lamented America’s war in Iraq. Praise for his service poured in from elected officials. And a Capitol Hill staffer who worked with Officer Sicknick recalled fond memories of his compassionate behavior, «kind face» and love of fishing.
Police have not confirmed the circumstances of Sicknick’s death but said he «was injured while physically engaging with protesters» Wednesday. He returned to his division office and collapsed, then was taken to a local hospital where he died around 9:30 p.m. Thursday. According to two law enforcement officials who spoke to the Associated Press, Sicknick was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.
Four other fatalities occurred. Three people died from medical emergencies on Capitol grounds Wednesday, and one woman was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer during the riot.
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Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick (Photo: Ken Sicknick)
Dream job
A 1997 graduate of Middlesex County Technical Vocational High School, Sicknick «wanted to be a police officer his entire life,» his brother Ken Sicknick, said in a statement. He joined the New Jersey Air National Guard the year he graduated.
In 1998, Sicknick wrote to the Home News Tribune, his local newspaper, that the U.S. should take a tougher stance against Iraq leader Saddam Hussein, suggesting the U.S. launch an aerial assault. «Diplomacy has its place, but it won’t keep in this situation,» he wrote.
Sicknick deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1999 in support of Operation Southern Watch. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he served in Kyrgyzstan in support of the war in Afghanistan. While stateside, Sicknick served in the 108th Air Refueling Wing out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, his brother said.
Sicknick «served his country honorably» and made his family «very proud,» his brother said. Sicknick was honorably discharged in 2003, according to Lt. Col. Barbara Brown, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey National Guard.
Letters show doubts about war
Sicknick, however, seems to have later soured not only on the war but also the Bush Administration’s strategy. He eventually saw the war as a defense of Americans’ reliance on oil and advocated higher gasoline taxes to dissuade motorists from driving SUVs.
«Our troops are stretched very thin, and morale is dangerously low among them,» he wrote to the Home News Tribune in 2003. «I’m starting to see an increasing trend of soldiers asking, ‘Why are we still here?'»
The Home News Tribune is part of the USA TODAY Network and the Atlantic Group of Gannett. Sicknick wrote to the paper at least six times over the course of his life.
He later worked as a custodian at a school in Cranbury, New Jersey, according to public records and school and library administrators.
He joined the U.S. Capitol Police in 2008, and he served most recently in the First Responder Unit.
Public records indicate Sicknick currently lived in Springfield, Virginia.
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Capitol Hill Police salute as they lower the United States flag over the United States Capitol to half-staff on Jan. 8, 2021 after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at half-staff following the death of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Officer Brian Sicknick who died after he was injured when President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
Flags were at half-staff Friday in his hometown, where South River Mayor John Krenzel pleaded with the nation to return to discourse and reason to solve its differences.
«We share the Sicknick family’s loss and we will keep Brian and his family in our thoughts and prayers,» Krenzel said. «It is my fervent wish that the nation returns to its ideals so that we resolve our disagreements and grievances not using violence, but instead with sound discourse and reason.»
South River police patrolled the Sicknick family’s neighborhood Friday, which was quiet. But tributes streamed in from elected officials and those who knew him.
Putting politics aside ‘to comfort a friend’
Caroline Behringer, a former staffer who worked for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, recalled Sicknick greeting her every morning when she arrived at south entrance of the U.S. Capitol.
«He was the first face I saw every morning when I came to work,» she recalled of her time working for Pelosi, who was then the House minority leader.
Sicknick was a quiet, «kind face» and the pair bonded over their love of the outdoors, she said. He often talked about how much he looked forward to getting outside and fishing once he was off of work.
As the 2016 election neared, Behringer said she and Sicknick, a supporter of the then-candidate Donald Trump, traded barbs and joked whether he would prevail over the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
«We would kind of trade jabs about who was going to win and kind of make fun of each other for our sides being in the lead,» she said.
The day after the election, Nov. 9, 2016, Behringer recalled being devastated by the outcome and struggling to face the day as she approached the Capitol building. As she walked up, the doors had been thrown open by two other officers, a request made by Sicknick when he saw her approaching.
«I collapsed into him in tears and I knew he was a Trump supporter – he was an outspoken Trump supporter – and he put that aside in that moment to comfort a friend and it was a small gesture of kindness, but one that has always stuck with me,» she said.
Behringer said she’s spoken to a number of people who work on on the hill who are heartbroken by Sicknick’s loss, emphasizing the officers there are not just Capitol Police but also family.
«At the same time that there was an attack on our country, there was an invasion on our home and an attack on our family,» she said. «They were in our offices, they were attacking our friends and family and I think that’s just incredibly hard for people to process.»
Investigation underway
Officials said Sicknick’s death is being investigated by D.C. Metropolitan Police’s homicide unit. Any criminal charges related to Sicknick’s death will be federal because the events leading up to it happened on federal property, an official with knowledge of the matter said.
«Many details regarding Wednesday’s events and the direct causes of Brian’s injuries remain unknown and our family asks the public and the press to respect our wishes in not making Brian’s passing a political issue,» Ken Sicknick said.
«Please honor Brian’s life and service and respect our privacy while we move forward in doing the same. Brian is a hero and that is what we would like people to remember.»
Contributing: Kristine Phillips, Tom Vanden Brook and Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY; Suzanne Russell and Greg Tufaro, MyCentralJersey.com
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