US Capitol authorities confirm police death; Biden expresses deep sympathy

New Delhi, January 09: Capitol Police confirmed on Friday night that police Officer Brian Sicknick died as a result of injuries sustained on duty at the US Capitol, bringing the total number of deaths up to five people now. On Wednesday, authorities named Former Air Force member Ashli Babbit as the person who was shot by a member of law enforcement as she took part in the mob that stormed the US Capitol. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee also confirmed that three others died due to 'separate medical emergencies' as the Capitol was stormed.

 

 

The officer, Brian Sicknick, had been with the US Capitol Police (USCP) since July 2008, and most recently served in the department’s first responders unit. Sicknick became the fifth person to die in the attacks. Among the four others killed was a demonstrator shot by authorities. Three died in what police called 'medical emergencies', the report added.

 

President-elect Joe Biden expressed his deep sympathy for Sicknick’s family on Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the Capitol to fly its flags at half-staff in Sicknick’s honor and called for the perpetrator to be brought to justice. “The violent and deadly act of insurrection targeting the Capitol, our temple of American democracy, and its workers was a profound tragedy and stain on our nation’s history,” Pelosi said.

 

 

 

“But because of the heroism of our first responders and the determination of the Congress, we were not, and we will never be, diverted from our duty to the Constitution and the American people,” she added, calling for the perpetrator to be brought to justice. Wednesday’s breach of the building came as Congress was certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. “Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots … and was injured while physically engaging with protesters,” police said in a statement.

 

He died on Thursday after being taken to hospital following his collapse upon returning to his divisional office, it added. Craig Sicknick, the officer’s brother, told the Daily Beast that he was left on a ventilator with a blood clot on the brain following the attack on the Capitol. Sicknick was a former Air National Guardsman who, according to his brother, served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Enduring Freedom before joining the police force. He then became a critic of the Iraq war and the treatment of military veterans in letters sent to a local newspaper in New Jersey, according to tweets sent by Marcus Baram, an investigative journalist.