Death of Brian Sicknick

"Sicknick" redirects here. For for the professional wrestler, Nick "Sick Nick" Mondo, see Nick Mondo.

Death of Brian Sicknick

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden attend the viewing for Sicknick's remains at the Capitol.
Date	January 7, 2021 (2021-01-07)
Location	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Deaths	Brian Sicknick
Suspects	Julian Elie Khater George Pierre Tanios
Charges	Assault

Brian Sicknick, a United States Capitol Police officer, died on January 7, 2021, the day after he responded to the storming of the Capitol. He was pepper-sprayed during the riot, and had two thromboembolic strokes the next day, after which he was placed on life support, and soon died. The District of Columbia chief medical examiner found that Sicknick had died from stroke, classifying his death as natural, whereby a death is "not hastened by an injury", and additionally commented that "all that transpired played a role in his condition." His body lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, before his cremated remains were buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

In the intervening period prior to the chief examiner's ruling, the cause of Sicknick's death was subject to confusion and controversy. Within hours of his death, the Capitol Police released a statement that the death was "due to injuries sustained while on-duty", when he was "physically engaging with protesters" at the Capitol. The next day, the U.S. Justice Department attributed the death "to the injuries he suffered defending the U.S. Capitol, against the violent mob who stormed it". Meanwhile, media, citing law enforcement sources, incorrectly reported for weeks that Sicknick had died after being struck in the head with a fire extinguisher during the unrest.

Brian Sicknick's death was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch, the USCP, and the FBI. On March 14, two men were arrested and charged with nine counts each, including three assaults with a deadly weapon (chemical spray). Neither of the two men have been charged with causing Sicknick's death.

Brian Sicknick

Brian Sicknick
Born	Brian David Sicknick (1978-07-30)July 30, 1978 New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	January 7, 2021(2021-01-07) (aged 42) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Alma mater	University of Phoenix (BS)
Known for	2021 storming of the United States Capitol
Police career
Department	United States Capitol Police
Service years	2008–2021
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1997–2003
Rank	Staff sergeant
Battles / wars	Operation Southern Watch Operation Enduring Freedom

Brian David Sicknick (July 30, 1978 – January 7, 2021) was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to Gladys and Charles Sicknick. He grew up in South River, New Jersey, as the youngest of three sons. Sicknick attended East Brunswick Technical High School to study electronics but later aspired to become a police officer. He graduated from the high school in 1997.

Sicknick's basic training photo in 1997

After struggling to find a job as a police officer, Sicknick joined the New Jersey Air National Guard in 1997, toward that end. He served on the 108th Wing at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, as a fire team member and leader with the security force squadron. In 1998, he wrote a letter to Home News Tribune, his local newspaper, expressing his skepticism towards America's soft stance against Saddam Hussein.

He was deployed to Saudi Arabia to support Operation Southern Watch in 1999, and to Kyrgyzstan to support Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003. Sicknick later criticized U.S. motivations for the War in Afghanistan and the government's strategy in the Iraq War. In 2003, he wrote again to Home News Tribune, noting a decline in morale among troops. He was honorably discharged in the same year as a staff sergeant.

Sicknick also worked as a school custodian in Cranbury, New Jersey. He later moved to Springfield, Virginia, and joined the United States Capitol Police in July 2008. One of his first assignments occurred during the first inauguration of Barack Obama. On December 31, 2013, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree from the University of Phoenix. Sicknick was an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but those who had met him "said his political views did not align neatly with one political party": he opposed Trump's impeachment, supported gun control, opposed animal cruelty and was concerned about the national debt. He was remembered for comforting Caroline Behringer, a staffer for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as she returned to work at the Capitol following Trump's victory.

Events

Attack on the Capitol

Sicknick was a member of the Capitol Police's First Responder Unit. During the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Sicknick was on duty outside at the Capitol's west side, specifically the lower west terrace, on the front line facing protesters. As tensions increased, both police and some of the rioters deployed chemical spray and other irritants. At about 2 p.m., Sicknick and perhaps two fellow officers were sprayed and became unable to perform their duties for about 20 minutes.

Video of Sicknick being sprayed with chemicals was released publicly for the first time in late March.

In a search warrant affidavit, an FBI special agent stated that rioters Julian Elie Khater and George Pierre Tanios arrived at the police line at 2:09 p.m., over an hour after the assault on the Capitol began. At 2:14 p.m., Khater and Tanios, then close to the police line, had a discussion, part of which was captured in another video recording. Khater tells Tanios, "Give me that bear shit" and then appeared to get something from Tanios's backpack. (Federal prosecutors wrote in later court filings that Khater and Tanios were both carrying cans of bear spray. Tanios told Khater to wait, saying "Hold on, hold on, not yet, not yet ... it's still early," apparently suggesting that it was too early to use the pepper spray to attack police. Khater responded, "They just fucking sprayed me." At 2:23 p.m., rioters attempted to breach the police line (formed by barricades of bicycle racks). A police lieutenant sprayed the crowd with a chemical substance, and one of the rioters rushed in to attack a Metropolitan Police officer. At that moment, Khater raised his arm above the mob and sprayed a chemical substance toward Sicknick—a moment captured by Metropolitan Police Department body camera footage, which also shows the police officers stumbling back, shielding their eyes, and calling out in pain. Still photographs show that Sicknick retreated, bent over, and used water to wash out his face. A Capitol Police officer who stood next to Sicknick during the attack said that, due to the effects of the spray, she had burn scabs under her eyes three weeks after January 6.

Within five minutes of the attack on Sicknick and the other officers, rioters breached the police line and seized control of the west side of the building. After a group of other police officers regroup to guard one important entranceway, the mob clashed with police for more than two hours; during that period, at least four officers were pulled into the crowd and beaten. After the police retreat, video recordings show Tanios and Khater standing some distance from the crowd; Khater spoke with two tactical vest-wearing men discussing what the mob's next move should be.

Death

Sicknick text-messaged his brother on Wednesday night after the riot, reporting that he had been twice attacked with pepper spray and was "in good shape". Shortly before 10 p.m., however, nearly 8 hours after he was sprayed, and some time after he had returned to his division office, Sicknick collapsed. Sicknick was taken to a hospital in the D.C. area. As his condition deteriorated, rumors had begun to circulate of an officer's death, and on Thursday afternoon the department issued a statement rebutting such reports. Sicknick died around 9:30 p.m. on January 7. Family members had not yet arrived at the hospital when he died.

Shortly after his passing, the Capitol Police announced Sicknick's death in a press release stating that "Sicknick passed away due to injuries sustained while on-duty" and that "Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The death of Officer Sicknick will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, the USCP, and our federal partners."

On January 8, 2021, an article in ProPublica explained that the family had been informed, at some point, that Sicknick had been treated for a stroke caused by a blood clot, and had been surviving on a ventilator but "family members did not have details of his injuries." The Sicknick family urged the public and press not to politicize Sicknick's death.

Subsequent developments

Confusion and controversy about cause of death

Accounts of Sicknick's death changed over time, amid an atmosphere of confusion. Within hours of Sicknick's death, the Capitol Police released a statement late January 7 that Sicknick died "due to injuries sustained while on-duty" while "physically engaging with protesters" at the Capitol. On January 8, the United States Department of Justice published a statement by Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen, which attributed Sicknick's death "to injuries he suffered defending the U.S. Capitol, against the violent mob who stormed it". That day, the Capitol Police opened a homicide investigation into Sicknick's death, joined by the Metropolitan Police Department and other federal agencies.

Some initial media reports regarding Sicknick's cause of death were incorrect. On January 8, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, and separate stories in The New York Times cited two anonymous law enforcement officials as saying that Sicknick was struck in the head by a fire extinguisher. Similar reports followed on January 9. Meanwhile, Sicknick's father said Sicknick was pepper-sprayed and hit in the head, reported Reuters on January 10.

In February 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives included a reference to the New York Times article about Sicknick's death in their official proceedings of the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, alongside a reference to over 140 other injuries inflicted by insurrectionists against the Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police. On the same day, CNN reported, citing a law enforcement official, that medical examiners had not found evidence of blunt force trauma on Sicknick's body, and that investigators were considering a chemical irritant as a possible cause of death rather than trauma injury from a fire extinguisher.

On February 11, The New York Times reported that "police sources and investigators are at odds" over whether Sicknick had been hit with an extinguisher.

On February 25, Yogananda Pittman, who became acting chief of the Capitol Police after the storming, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch that Sicknick had died in the line of duty.

The Associated Press on February 28, citing two people briefed on the investigation, reported that investigators originally believed that Sicknick's head was struck by an extinguisher due to statements collected early in the investigation. Other police officers were targeted by the pro-Trump mob with hurled fire extinguishers on January 6, in incidents unrelated to Sicknick.

In April, after the medical examiner's autopsy findings were reported, the Wall Street Journal reported that a law enforcement official said that the erroneous information had been privately spread by Capitol Police officers. Other sources blamed the mainstream media for spreading false information. In April and May of 2021, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent letters to the acting U.S. Capitol Police chief requesting information on the handling of Sicknick's death. USCP General Counsel Thomas DiBiase replied that the department did not put out a release that Sicknick was assaulted with a fire extinguisher, and that DiBiase was unaware of any communication between the USCP and House Impeachment Managers about Sicknick's death.

Investigation and charges

The FBI had narrowed its list of suspects throughout February. On March 14, Khater, of State College, Pennsylvania, and Tanios, of Morgantown, West Virginia, were arrested and charged with nine federal counts associated with the riot, including assaulting Sicknick and two other officers (one Capitol Police officer and one Metropolitan Police officer) with a deadly weapon. The two men were also charged with civil disorder, obstructing a congressional proceeding, and conspiring to injure an officer. A federal district judge ordered both Khater and Tanios detained pending trial.

D.C. medical examiner report

On April 19, 2021, the office of the chief medical examiner of the District of Columbia, Francisco J. Diaz, reported that the manner of death was natural and the cause of death was "acute brainstem and cerebellar infarcts due to acute basilar artery thrombosis" (two strokes at the base of the brain stem caused by an artery clot). Diaz told the Washington Post that there was no evidence that Sicknick had an allergic reaction to chemicals or was otherwise injured, but stated that "all that transpired played a role in his condition." The actual autopsy report has not been released to the public. The medical examiner’s office did not say why it took more than 100 days to release the results of that autopsy.

The medical examiner's determination rendered murder charges unlikely. Because stress and traumatic events can lead to a stroke, some neurologists and other experts questioned the medical examiner's classification of the manner of death as natural: Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist, said that Sicknick's manner of death could have been classified as accidental, a homicide, or undetermined.

After the ruling, the Capitol Police issued a statement saying that the ruling "does not change the fact Officer Brian Sicknick died in the line of duty, courageously defending Congress and the Capitol."

Memorials and funeral

Flag at the Capitol at half-staff on January 12 in honor of Sicknick

On January 8, 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered flags at the Capitol to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Sicknick. Vice President Mike Pence called Sicknick's family to offer his condolences, and a deputy press secretary for the Trump administration issued a written statement.The following weekend, Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at all federal buildings, grounds, and vessels for three days. The governors of New Jersey and Virginia also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in their respective states. On January 12, 2021, a memorial service was held in Sicknick's hometown of South River, New Jersey. His family, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, and local officials were in attendance. Menendez presented to Sicknick's family the flag that had flown over the Capitol in his honor. Sicknick's high school, East Brunswick Technical High School, announced plans to plant an oak tree on campus in his honor.

On January 29, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Sicknick would lie in honor at the Capitol rotunda. The arrival ceremony began on the evening of February 2, 2021, at the Capitol's east front, followed by a viewing period attended by President Joe Biden, who had taken office on January 20, and First Lady Jill Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff paid their respects on February 3, along with several legislators and police officers. Later that day, Sicknick's cremated remains, accompanied by a procession, departed the Capitol for Arlington National Cemetery, where burial took place.

Members of Sicknick's family attended Super Bowl LV in February 2021 as honored guests of the National Football League, along with three officers of the Metropolitan Police Department.

See also

• Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson, Capitol police officers killed during the 1998 United States Capitol shooting
• William Evans, Capitol police officer killed in a vehicular assault on the Capitol in April 2021

External links

• Media related to Brian Sicknick at Wikimedia Commons