WASHINGTON – Brian Sicknick followed his National Air Guard unit to Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan and a military base in his home state of New Jersey, all in hopes of one day wearing a police uniform. It was a wish fulfilled more than 10 years ago, when he joined the police department charged with protecting the United States Capitol.
Then, on Wednesday, pro-Trump protesters attacked that democracy citadel, overpowered Sicknick, 42, and hit him over the head with a fire extinguisher, according to two police officers. With a bloody cut on the head, Mr. Sicknick was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support devices. He died on Thursday night.
“Brian is a hero,” said his brother Ken Sicknick. “This is what we would like people to remember.”
The death of Officer Sicknick amplified the nation’s pain in the wake of the shocking attack on the Capitol by protesters, ignited by President Trump’s calls to prevent Congress from counting electoral votes and officially declaring Joseph R. Biden Jr. the winner of the November election . One of those rioters, Ashli Babbitt, also died in the confusion, shot by a policeman as he tried to enter the speaker’s lobby, heavily protected, outside the chamber.
In all, five have died since the riot began, although three have not been killed by hostile action. But the beating of a police officer brought waves of condolences from lawmakers on both sides still recovering from the event. It also exposed one of the many contradictions of the Trump presidency in his final weeks in the Oval Office. A president who campaigned as a candidate for “law and order”, bragging about his relations with police unions and demonizing those protesting racist policing, incited a riot that led to the death of a member of the police community.
“It’s a lot of” nonsense, William J. Bratton, the former New York police commissioner, said of Trump’s promises to the police, although he used a stronger word. “It was a misappropriation of the term ‘law and order'”.
Justice Department officials said at a news conference on Friday that they were investigating the circumstances of Sicknick’s death, but did not say whether it was a federal murder investigation. One official said that “crime is always at stake”, but that investigators need to complete their work.
Trump this summer revamped his presidential campaign around “law and order” amid the turmoil that followed George Floyd’s assassination in Minneapolis, promising to crack down on riots and looting. This week, he helped trigger these crimes after encouraging his supporters to go to the Capitol to interrupt the counting of votes at the Electoral College.
In videos posted on social media, Mr. Trump called the Capitol invasion a “heinous act”. His press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, also condemned the violence on “behalf of the entire White House”.
Some members of the police community said the death on Wednesday highlighted Trump’s efforts to use a commitment to public security to gain political support, not necessarily to help the police.
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While Mr. Trump was gathering police officers for his side, his Department of Justice also threatened to deprive New York City of a federal grant with the name of a police officer killed in the line of duty when local leaders did not accept his immigration crackdown. He cut funding in the early years of his presidency for the prevention of domestic terrorism, and his Department of Homeland Security was accused last year of suppressing a warning about the rise in violent white nationalists – extremist groups that joined the crowd that invaded the country. Capitol that Sicknick worked to protect.
“He showed nothing to support the authorities, except to shake hands, pat them on the back and say that no matter what they do, they are fine and right,” said Gil Kerlikowske, former chief police officer in Seattle and three other cities .
Trump’s rhetoric attracted many ordinary police officers, and that was evident on Wednesday. As the crowd marched to the Capitol, some officers were seen taking selfies with Trump loyalists. The video captured a group of police officers moving to the side of the barricades to allow supporters to advance into the building. Activists said there was a clear double pattern this summer, when police forces were tough on racial justice protesters, although no police officers were killed during the Washington protests.
Mr. Sicknick apparently resisted the crowd, along with many other Capitol Police officers. Capitol Police said he was “physically engaged with the protesters” when he was hit.
John Krenzel, the mayor of South River, NJ, Sicknick’s hometown, said the policeman’s family was shocked by his death.
“The fact that he went to work in the morning and suddenly he is no longer there. He’s gone. You don’t expect that, ”said Krenzel.
Sicknick joined the National Air Guard and was assigned to Saudi Arabia in 1999, according to a statement from the New Jersey chapter of the National Guard. In 2003, he was sent to Kyrgyzstan. He joined the Capitol Police in 2008.
He was not ashamed to share his opinion. He wrote letters to his congressman, Deputy Donald S. Beyer Jr., a Democrat from Virginia, opposing Trump’s impeachment and defending arms control.
He also sent letters to officials emphasizing the need to protect animals. He spent much of his free time trying to rescue Dachshunds, his family said in a statement.
Trump did not comment on Sicknick’s death on Twitter before the company suspended his account, citing “the risk of further incitement to violence”. Congressional leaders in both parties expressed their sadness.
Katie Benner and Eric Schmitt contributed reports. Kitty Bennett contributed research.