Holly MatkinWashington, DC – The U.S. Capitol police officer who died in the line of duty due to injuries he suffered while responding to the Jan. 6 riot will lie in honor inside the Capitol rotunda this week.
An arrival ceremony in honor of U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Officer Brian Sicknick will take place on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, WTOP reported.
The USCP will be invited to participate in a viewing period inside the rotunda after the ceremony, and a viewing for members of Congress will commence on Wednesday morning.
Officer Sicknick will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery following a ceremonial departure at noon, WTOP reported.
The fallen officer’s family said they are grateful for the honor.
“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,” they said in a statement, according to WTOP. “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.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement that the U.S. Congress is “united in grief, gratitude and solemn appreciation” for Officer Sicknick’s service and sacrifice, WTOP reported.
“The heroism of Officer Sicknick and the Capitol Police force during the violent insurrection against our Capitol helped save lives, defend the temple of our democracy and ensure that the Congress was not diverted from our duty to the Constitution,” Pelosi and Schumer said. “His sacrifice reminds us every day of our obligation to our country and to the people we serve.”
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) and Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) introduced a bill on Jan. 28 seeking to have the House Sergeant-at-Arms cover the cost of Officer Sicknick’s funeral expenses, as well as to install a plaque in his honor inside the U.S. Capitol Building, Politico reported.
The last time a USCP officer was authorized to lie in honor inside the Capitol rotunda was in the summer of 1998, following the line-of-duty shooting deaths of USCP Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Archives website.
Officer Chestnut and Det. Gibson were murdered on July 24, 1998, while protecting the Capitol from a gunman who stormed a security checkpoint.
Then-Majority Whip Tom DeLay was among those the officers saved from the active shooter that day.
DeLay said at the time that the officers’ deaths represented “the sacrifices of thousands of police officers across the Nation who do their duty to serve and protect the public, sometimes under great abuse, sometimes under great disregard, and many times people take them for granted.”
“It all comes together when an incident like this happens and we realize how much we owe to police officers all over this country,” he added.
Officer Sicknick, 42, collapsed at his division office after he was “injured while physically engaging with protesters” at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, the USCP said in a press release.
The department did not elaborate on the injuries he suffered, but two law enforcement officials said he was hit with a fire extinguisher as rioters stormed through the halls of Congress and lawmakers hid beneath their desks, The New York Times reported.
Officer Sicknick was rushed to a local hospital, where his family learned he had a blood clot on his brain and had been placed on a ventilator, his brother, Craig Sicknick, told the Daily Beast.
The veteran officer remained hospitalized until his death at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, according to the USCP.
“After a day of fighting for his life, he passed away a hero,” Officer Sicknick’s brother told ABC News in a statement. “I would like to thank all of his brothers and sisters in law enforcement for the incredible compassion and support they have shown my family. My family and I hope that our privacy can be respected as we grieve. Thank you.”
Officer Sicknick, a 12-and-one-half-year veteran of the department, served six years in the Air National Guard prior to joining the USCP in 2008, his brother told the Daily Beast.
He also served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Desert Shield, his brother said.
Officer Sicknick was most recently assigned to the USCP First Responders Unit, the agency said in the press release.
“The entire USCP Department expresses its deepest sympathies to Officer Sicknick’s family and friends on their loss, and mourns the loss of a friend and colleague,” the USCP said.
