A United States Capitol Police officer died on Thursday night of injuries sustained when he became involved with a pro-Trump crowd that fell on the U.S. Capitol the day before.
Officer Brian D. Sicknick died at around 9:30 pm on Thursday, Capitol Police said in a statement. He has been with the agency since 2008.
Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday and “was injured while physically engaging the protesters,” said the agency’s statement, although officials did not immediately go into detail about the nature of his injuries or how he interacted with the crowd. . After suffering his injuries, Mr. Sicknick returned to his division’s office, passed out and was taken to the hospital.
“The entire USCP department expresses its deepest condolences to Officer Sicknick’s family and friends for his loss and regrets the loss of a friend and colleague,” the statement said. The media reported prematurely about his death earlier in the day, while he was apparently still on the life support device.
Metropolitan Police Department homicide investigators are involved in the case.
Sicknick’s death brings the death toll from Wednesday’s chaos to five. One of the people who participated in the pro-Trump unrest was shot and killed by a Capitol policeman inside the building. Three other people died after undergoing medical emergencies, officials said.
Officials said some 50 policemen were injured as the crowd crowded into barricades, threw objects, slammed doors, smashed windows and oppressed some of the policemen who were trying to resist the advancing crowd.
Capitol Police reported 14 arrests during the raid, including two people who were arrested for assaulting a police officer. Local police arrested dozens of others, most for illegal entry and curfew violations on Wednesday night.
Steven Sund, the capitol police chief, surrendered his resignation on Thursday after facing pressure from Congressional leaders.