“As a token of respect for the service and sacrifice of the Capitol police officers of the United States, Brian D. Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, and all Capitol police officers and law enforcers in this great nation, United States has been granted by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the United States flag be flown with half-staff in the White House and on all public buildings and sites, on all military posts and naval stations, and on all federal government naval vessels in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories and possessions until sunset, January 13, 2021, ‘reads the President’s proclamation in part.
Both officers were on duty during Wednesday’s uprising in the U.S. Capitol. After hundreds of pro-Trump rioters pushed through barriers along the perimeter of the Capitol, protesters finally broke into the building and the house floor was evacuated by police.
Only after Trump pleaded with aides and allies in the beleagured Capitol did Trump release a video urging the rioters to “go home” while still inciting their unfounded grievances over a stolen election.
Sicknick was injured while physically dealing with the rioters and collapsed after returning to his branch office, the statement said. “He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries,” a Capitol police statement said.
Sicknick joined the USCP in July 2008 and was recently in the division’s first response unit.
“The entire USCP division expresses its deepest sympathy with Officer Sicknick’s family and friends for their loss and mourns the loss of a friend and colleague,” Capitol police said.