#Capitol cop who died in riots NJ native, veteran: reports

The US Capitol Police officer who died in the DC riots was a President Trump supporter from New Jersey who served in the military — including a deployment to the Middle East — before joining the force.

Brian Sicknick, 42, died Thursday, a day after collapsing when he returned to his division office following the attack on the Capitol, according to the USCP, which said he was injured “while physically engaging with protesters.”

Two sources told The New York Times that the officer, who joined the department, had been struck with a fire extinguisher.

The New York City Police Benevolent Associated mourned his loss with a statement on Twitter.

“Keep Capitol PO Brian Sicknick and his family in your hearts, along with his Capitol Police colleagues. We know our Fed brothers & sisters will move mountains to bring this cop-killer to justice — along w/ every rioter who participated in this despicable attack,
the PBA wrote.

It linked to a video posted by Mike Valerio of WUSA showing a throng of police officers lining the front of the Capitol in silence in the officer’s memory.

A Twitter account that is now restricted indicated that Sicknick supported the president – with his cover photo featuring Trump’s private plane, according to Heavy.com.

Sicknick, who lived in Virginia, was a 1997 graduate of Middlesex County Vocational Technical High School in East Brunswick, the site reported, citing a 1998 article in the Central New Jersey Home News.

He was a former Air National Guardsman who served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Enduring Freedom, his brother Craig Sicknick told The Daily Beast.

The officer’s family had rushed to the hospital to be by his side earlier Thursday evening when they learned he was on a ventilator with a blood clot on his brain, his brother told the outlet.

“After a day of fighting for his life, he passed away a hero. I would like to thank all of his brothers and sisters in law enforcement for the incredible compassion and support they have shown my family,” his brother told ABC News.

“My family and I hope that our privacy can be respected as we grieve. Thank you,” he added.

In 2000, Sicknick wrote a letter to the editor of the Central New Jersey Home News, according to Heavy.

“With the military drastically downsizing, the National Guard and Reserves are called upon more than ever. I understand this may cause a hardship on the employers,” he wrote.

“There still are some employers in New Jersey that give guardsmen and reservists a hard time when they have to serve,” he continued, adding that “these employers have to start realizing that reservists make up more than 50 percent of the military.

“They have to start giving these men and women some slack. In order to keep the freedoms we enjoy so much, we must rely on reservists,” he added.

A year later, he wrote another letter to the local news outlet in which he complained that the government did not give proper assistance to veterans, Heavy reported.

“I am no longer going to risk my life in hostile environments around the globe for a government that does not care about the troops. I feel that I had a simple problem the government could have easily solved,” he reportedly wrote.

And in 2003, he reportedly wrote that an “unnecessary war” was taking place, adding that with “other major problems going on in this country, there is no room for blatantly partisan politics.”

He argued that the Bush administration “has its hands grasped firmly on the puppet strings of conservative senators.”

According to the report, Sicknick later wrote: “I believe we should have regime change here in America. It’s time to oust the arrogant oil hacks that occupy the White House.”

In a statement, the Capitol Police said: “The entire USCP Department expresses its deepest sympathies to Officer Sicknick’s family and friends on their loss, and mourns the loss of a friend and colleague. 

We ask that Officer Sicknick’s family, and other USCP officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected during this time.”