Questions surrounding the death of Capitol Hill Police Officer Brian Sicknick continue to swirl as many of them continue to go unanswered.
Brian Sicknick was born and raised in New Jersey. A veteran of the New Jersey National Guard, he had been a Capitol Hill Police Officer for 12 years. He died on January 7, a day after the violence at the Capitol Building in Washington.
The mainstream media quickly reported a near-universal narrative that Sicknick died from injuries sustained during that violence. Specifically, that he was beaten over the head with a fire extinguisher by angry rioters.
“…on Wednesday, pro-Trump rioters attacked that citadel of democracy, overpowered Mr. Sicknick, 42, and struck him in the head with a fire extinguisher, according to two law enforcement officials,” declared The New York Times. “With a bloody gash in his head, Mr. Sicknick was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. He died Thursday evening.”
It has since been revealed there was no blunt force trauma to Brian’s head. There was no fire extinguisher blow, no bloody gash, and he was never rushed to the hospital. In fact, Brian would text his brother Ken on the night of January 6 to tell him that while he was “pepper sprayed twice” during the unrest, he was “in good shape.”
The next afternoon the Sicknick family began receiving phone calls – from journalists – asking for reaction to the news Brian was dead. At that point the Sicknick family had not received word Brian was dead from any official source – not the Capitol Police, not the Department of Justice nor the FBI. Media outlets had received word first from still as of yet unidentified “law enforcement officials,” and began publicizing the news.
The Sicknick family was dumbfounded. “We have not gotten any calls,” his brother Ken told reporters when first contacted. “We’re kind of overwhelmed right now. You guys are getting reports of his death before I even got anything.”
The Capitol Police was forced to release a statement calling the reports of Sicknick’s death inaccurate. “No USCP officers have passed away,” that statement read in part.
“We ask that our officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected at this time. Should a statement become necessary, the Department will issue one at the appropriate time.”-USCP spox.
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) January 8, 2021
Sicknick’s family rushed to the hospital to try to get clarity on Brian’s condition. When they arrived they discovered he had died shortly beforehand.
Adding to the confusion are the details the Sicknick family was given about his death. Ken was told his brother collapsed inside the Capitol Building the day before and was rushed to the hospital where he “succumbed to his injuries.” But the US Capitol Police’s statement read Brian had “returned to his division office and collapsed” before being taken to the hospital. (The press release regarding Brian’s death now appears to be inaccessible on the USCP’s website.)
Some time between texting Ken on Wednesday night and telling him he was “in good shape” and Thursday afternoon Brian apparently suffered a stroke. Yet no evidence or confirmation of this as the official cause of death has been made.
Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said the Department of Justice would “spare no resources in investigating and holding accountable those responsible” for Brian’s death. But five weeks later no additional information regarding Brian’s death has been released.
Few media outlets have forcefully corrected their records or show any indication they are investigating the outstanding questions. The Sicknick’s death “by fire extinguisher” description still appears in the memorandum filed by Democrats in the second impeachment of President Donald Trump.
In a case of circular-referencing House Democrats cite The New York Times as the source for that information.
No autopsy results have been released (they’re often released within 24 hours). And previously unannounced, until Brian’s remains showed up in an urn rather than a coffin, is that Brian’s body was cremated, meaning no additional forensic information can be gleaned.
It is unclear why – or even whether – Sicknick’s family authorized the cremation of the remains with so many uncertainties surrounding Brian’s death. A request for comment by ITN to Capitol Hill Police on when and by whom Officer Sicknick’s cremation was authorized has gone unanswered.
Two other Capitol Hill Police Officers have died following the events of January 6. The cause of death for those officers, Howard Liebengood and Jeffery Smith, is listed as suicide.