Cops shed tears as they line the streets of DC to salute Officer Brian Sicknick

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Police officers lined a street in Washington D.C. on Sunday to honor a fallen comrade, Officer Brian Sicknick who was murdered while attempting to police the  U.S. Capitol during Wednesday’s riots. 

Sicknick was struck in the head by a fire extinguisher as he tried to prevent Trump supporters from entering the building, trying to stop Trump supporters from storming in.  

Capitol were flown at half staff at the request of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Four days on from his tragic death, president Trump has still not reached out to Sicknick’s family, although Vice President Mike Pence called to offer condolences, an aide said. 

Sicknick was a veteran with the armed forces and had served 6 years in the New Jersey Air National Guard, as a leader of the 108th Security Force Squadron.  

The Capitol Police said in a statement that Sicknick was injured ‘while physically engaging with protesters.’ During the struggle he was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, two law enforcement officials said. 

‘I don’t think Brian had a nasty bone in his body. He just was a good person and wanted the best for everyone around him,’ Chief Master Sgt Lance Endee told Fox 29. 

‘When you are told he died such a horrible death, I was very sad about the whole thing. He really optimized the air force core value of service before self,’ Endee said. 

Sicknick was from New Jersey. The state’s Governor Phil Murphy released a statement: ‘Officer Sicknick gave his life protecting the United States Capitol, and by extension, our very democracy from violent insurrection.

‘His needless murder at the hands of a mob bent on overthrowing the Constitution he had dedicated his life to upholding is shocking. It is my fervent hope that the rioters whose actions directly contributed to his death are quickly identified and brought to justice.’ 

A GoFundMe page dedicated to Officer Sicknick has raised almost $500,000 for his family. 

‘Officer Sicknick joined the United States Capitol Police in July of 2008 and on his most recent assignment he served on the First Responders Unit. Officer Sicknick shared a passion for the outdoors and became a member of the mountain bike unit with Capitol Police, patrolling the grounds daily. His fellow officers remember him as someone they could always count on to be there and also could always bring a smile or laugh to them. Brian also shared a love for dogs as many of us at USCP do,’ the page reads.

‘There are no words to describe the loss of Officer Brian Sicknick. He will forever be remembered for his bravery and service to our country as a member of the military and a United States Capitol Police Officer.’ 

Sicknick’s death has shaken America as it grapples with how an armed mob could storm the halls of the U.S. Capitol as the presidential election results were being certified, sending hundreds of lawmakers, staff and journalists fleeing for safety. 

Videos published online show vastly outnumbered Capitol Police officers trying in vain to stop surging rioters, while other videos show officers not moving to stop rioters in the building.

Police leadership badly miscalculated the threat despite weeks of signals that Wednesday could get violent and they refused Pentagon help three days before the riot, and again as the mob descended. 

Under withering criticism, the police chief resigned as have the chief security officers for both the U.S. House and Senate.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., says she has asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. that Sicknick be buried with posthumous honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

‘Officer Sicknick died in the line of duty as a U.S. Capitol Police Officer but did so living up to the oath he swore in the military: to protect and defend the Constitution,’ she said in her request. She got an encouraging early response from the Army.

‘The Office of the Secretary of the Army has received requests on behalf of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, a veteran, and fully supports the request for posthumous special honors and burial at Arlington National Cemetery, ‘ said the official who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal deliberations.

Sicknick is survived by his parents, Charles and Gladys Sicknick, his brothers Ken and Craig, and his longtime girlfriend, Sandra Garza.

The family asked the public to respect its wishes ‘in not making Brian´s passing a political issue.’

‘Brian is a hero and that is what we would like people to remember,’ the family said.