WASHINGTON — Hundreds of police officers and emergency response personnel lined the streets near the Capitol in Washington, D.C., overnight to honor a fallen U.S. Capitol Police officer whose death will be investigated as a homicide.
The officers observed a moment of silence around midnight to honor Officer Brian D. Sicknick, the fourth member of the force to die since it was founded nearly 200 years ago, and the fifth death stemming from the riot.
Sicknick died Thursday at 9:30 p.m. following injuries during Wednesday’s rioting in Washington, and his death will be investigated as a homicide, Capitol Police said.
Reporter Mike Valerio of WUSA 9 posted a video of the officers standing by the road around midnight on Thursday, with their emergency lights activated in tribute.
Valerio described the display as “stunning,” Fox reported.
Officer Sicknick joined the USCP in July 2008, and most recently served in the Department’s First Responder’s Unit, the agency said in a press statement.
“The entire U.S.C.P. 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 agency said.
A coalition of Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police and federal agencies will handle the homicide investigation.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and fellow officers of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who succumbed last night to the injuries he suffered defending the U.S. Capitol, against the violent mob who stormed it on January 6th,” Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen said in a statement. “The FBI and Metropolitan Police Department will jointly investigate the case and the Department of Justice will spare no resources in investigating and holding accountable those responsible.”
