A Capitol Police officer has died after allegedly being struck on the head with a fire extinguisher during yesterday’s violent confrontations between cops and supporters of President Donald Trump.
Officer Brian D Sicknick collapsed in his division office on Wednesday and was hospitalized on life support before passing away at about 9.30pm Thursday, USCP said in a statement.
The force’s union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou told WUSA9 that Sicknick suffered a stroke during the riots while the New York Times reported that he was also hit by the fire extinguisher. Another official told the Times a chemical agent may have led to his injuries.
USCP said only that Sicknick was ‘injured while physically engaging with protesters’, adding that its Homicide Branch was investigating his death.
It is not known where in the Capitol Sicknick was stationed as hundreds of Trump loyalists violently forced their way into the building in a bid to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory.
‘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,’ the force said in a statement.
Sicknick, who was in his 40s, had been with USCP since 2008. He most recently served in the first responder unit.
His death is the fifth to be linked to the chaos. Protester Ashli Babbit, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, was named Wednesday as the first casualty after being shot dead by an officer.
The three other Trump fanatics who died were named Thursday as Benjamin Phillips, 50; Kevin Greeson, 55; and Roseanne Boyland, 34.
More than 50 police officers were also injured in clashes with protesters.
Kevin Greeson, 55, from Alabama (left). His family say he is prone to high blood pressure and suffered a heart attack ‘in the midst of excitement’ on Wednesday. Phillips had organized for dozens of people to drive from PA to DC. He had a stroke then died at the scene
Roseanne Boyland, 34, died. Her family told DailyMail.com she was ‘trampled in the Rotunda’
Ashli Babbitt, 35, was a 14-year air force veteran who was fatally shot in the chest by Capitol Police as she breached the building on Wednesday. She was the first fatality announced
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather in front of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as they launched riots through the building that has resulted in the death of five people
Sergeant at Arms Paul D. Irving (left) – whose job is to protect the House chamber – and the chief of Capitol Police, Steven Sund (right) both stepped down on Thursday. Police are now building a 7ft wall around the Capitol to protect it over the coming weeks
The names emerged as the chief of the Capitol Police submitted his resignation on Thursday night after Nancy Pelosi and the union representing his officers called for him to step aside, following the total failure to protect Congress on Wednesday.
Steve Sund, appointed to the role in June 2019, will step down on January 16 – four days before Joe Biden’s inauguration.
His resignation came after that of the Sergeant at Arms, Paul Irving – whose job it is to protect the House.
He stepped down on Thursday after being told he would be fired for failing to protect the Capitol, as heads began to roll over the horrifying day of violence in America’s capital.
They were followed by Michael Stenger, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, who submitted his resignation to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, effective immediately.
Lawmakers had voiced their horror at the lack of preparations ahead of Wednesday’s Stop the Steal rally, which had been promoted by Trump for weeks.
Shortly before 2pm, the rioters descended on Capitol Hill while lawmakers were inside certifying the vote. Over the next two hours, the violence escalated. Some broke into politicians’ offices, tauntingly sat at their desks and left threatening notes. One of the protesters was shot dead by cops (bottom right)
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrierWednesday at the Capitol in Washington. As Congress prepared to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of fraud
Irving had been warned by Chuck Schumer that he would be fired over his office’s total failure to stop armed insurgents from breaking into the House chamber.
Pelosi had on Thursday called for the resignation of Chief Sund.
He failed to call in the National Guard to help on Wednesday, instead leaving his 2,000 cops on the hill to deal with the mob of nearly 10,000.
Four Trump rioters also died in Wednesday’s unrest which saw ugly scenes as the overwhelmed Capitol Police rushed to secure the House and the Senate floors.
Ashli Babbitt, 35, was a 14-year air force veteran who was fatally shot in the chest by Capitol Police as she breached the building.
Ashli Babbitt died after receiving a gunshot wound the chest from a Capitol cop
A witness to the shooting suggested the San Diego local was shot by police when she tried to climb through a broken window to get into congressional chambers.
Maryland court records show Babbitt had run-ins with law enforcement before – despite being a respected Air Force veteran, described as a ‘boisterous firecracker’ by a fellow soldier.
She was previously prosecuted for reckless endangerment, malicious destruction of property and tampering with a car, and was the subject of two restraining orders, court records obtained by DailyMail.com reveal.
Babbitt was born Ashli Pamatian, and was recorded as living under that name in North Pole, Alaska in her early adulthood.
She joined the Air Force in 2006, first serving at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, where she met her first husband, Staff Sergeant Tim McEntee.
A January 2008 photo on the base’s website shows the couple with their adopted former military working dog, Sorbon.
Babbitt was later stationed with the DC Air National Guard from at least 2014, where she moved in with her future second husband Aaron in Huntingtown, Maryland.
But Maryland court records show the McEntees’ marriage didn’t end until August 2018 when they filed for divorce.
Video showed Babbitt climbing through a broken window seconds before she was shot
Paramedics tend to Babbitt moments after she was shot inside the Capitol on Wednesday
In June 2019, Babbitt married former Marine Sergeant Aaron Babbitt, who served from 2000 to 2005 according to his Facebook page.
The bereaved former soldier told KUSI News on Wednesday his wife was a strong supporter of President Trump and a great patriot to all who knew her. He did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
An unidentified loved one sent Babbitt a portentous text message as she flew to DC for the protest, according to an apparent screenshot from her phone shared on social media.
‘Be safe. I cannot lose you,’ the sender wrote.
Babbitt texted back a selfie from her airplane seat wearing a ‘Trump 2020’ mask and wrote ‘Tons of trump supporters on my plane!!!! I’ll watch my 6’ – using the military term for looking out behind you.
An unidentified loved one sent Babbitt a portentous text message as she flew to DC for the protest, according to an apparent screenshot from her phone shared on social media. ‘Be safe. I cannot lose you,’ the sender wrote
Residency records show she was living with Norris and her future husband, former Marine Sergeant Aaron Babbitt, at the time. Babbitt traveled to Washington DC from her home in California alone, without her husband (who is pictured above)
Ashli Babbitt, 35, died from a gunshot wound to the chest after she joined dozens of protesters who stormed the Capitol to protest Joe Biden’s election victory
Three other Trump fanatics died after suffering medical emergencies.
Benjamin Phillips, 50, from Pennsylvania died after suffering a stroke; and Kevin Greeson, 55, from Alabama suffered a heart attack ‘in the midst of the excitement’.
According to The Inquirer, Phillips described the day as ‘the first day of the rest of our lives’.
‘They should name this year Zero because something will happen,’ his friends claim he said before the riot got underway.
Phillips founded the website Trumparoo, where Trump supporters can speak to each other, and organized transport for dozens of people to get to DC from Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
It’s unclear at what point in the day he suffered his stroke, or if he was married or had children.
Benjamin Phillips, 50, suffered a stroke (left); Kevin Greeson, 55, had a heart attack (right)
Greeson’s son announced his death on Facebook.
‘My dad had a heart attack yesterday and sadly passed away. We all loved him so much.
‘He was such a great man we all miss you so much. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers,’ he said.
Social media photographs show Greeson posing proudly with two AR-15 rifles. He regularly posted on the website Parler where he encouraged violence against Democrats.
Among recent comments was: ‘Let’s take this f*****g country BACK! Load your guns and take to the s streets.
‘Let’s give them a war… Democrats don’t have guns… we do.. bring your stick, I’m bringing my guns.’
Roseanne Boyland, 34, died. Her family told DailyMail.com she was ‘trampled in the Rotunda’
He also tweeted that hydroxychloroquine was a known cure for COVID – which has not been proven.
His family however say he was not violent and was only there to show his support for Trump.
‘Kevin had a history of high blood pressure, and in the midst of the excitement, suffered a heart attack.
‘Our family is devastated.
‘We are thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers and appreciate privacy at this time as we grieve,’ they said.
It’s unclear if the two men were among the violent mob who stormed the building.
Roseanne Boyland, 34, from Georgia was ‘trampled in the Rotunda’, her family told DailyMail.com on Thursday after police she had been potentially ‘crushed’ in the mob.
Her family said she had planned to ‘hang back’ but was emboldened by Trump’s speech earlier on Wednesday.
‘This was her first one. She wasn’t even supposed to go… we all didn’t want her to go. She was hanging back and then after the speech yesterday,’ the relative said.
‘They’re still working on [the details]. Someone said she was trampled, others said she collapsed…. we’re still trying to figure it out.’
Roseanne was ‘trampled in the Rotunda’, her family told DailyMail.com on Thursday after police she had been potentially ‘crushed’ in the mob.
Her brother-in-law, Justin Cave, said the rally cost her her life.
He blames Trump for her death.
‘Roseanne, like a lot of people there, was really passionate about her beliefs as was her right.
‘I personally believe that the President incited a riot that cost four of his biggest fans their lives. One of them happened to be my sister.
‘I personally believe we should invoke the 25th amendment.’
In a statement that he read aloud, he said: ‘Our family is devastated by the loss of Roseanne. She was a wonderful sister, daughter and aunt. Anyone who knew her knows how compassionate she was.
‘She would always put others before herself. As we watched these awful events unfold, we hoped that Roseanne was not among the crowd.
‘Tragically, she was and it cost her her life,’ he said.
A witness who was inside the Capitol with protesters on Wednesday said they saw Babbit get shot, other people get ‘trampled’ in a mob stampede, and believed they saw a second woman severely injured.
‘A second woman died (or came close),’ the witness wrote on Twitter. ‘It was a very intense situation that occurred after I saw several people get trampled, nearly avoiding that myself.
‘She collapsed in the entryway to the capital building and was trampled. Compressions were performed on her but I was unable to feel a carotid or femoral pulse. Several men carried her back to the police line. She was very cyanotic [discolored skin due to lack of oxygen] & bleeding from the face.’
The witness described a terrifying and deadly crush of people in the building, panicking as they fled police.
‘I was filming at the edge of the entrance just outside the flow a large group of people pressing into & being pressed from behind into the hallway,’ they wrote. ‘A large man grabbed from behind, pushed me into the Frey and said, ‘you’re going in, get in there,’ (I think). And I was fought in the mob and pressed into the entry hallway.
‘I managed to pull myself into a corner nook against the wall. Moments after, the police inside made a great push outward against the dozens of people pushing inward. Everyone became packed like sardines unable to move against the flow of bodies.’
They added: ‘At this point, the police and citizens began unleashing a sea of spray mace from both sides. It was nearly impossible to breathe or keep from panicking.
‘The man next to me passed out but remained standing due to how tightly we were packed. I slapped his face and he revived. About this time, the woman collapsed, the police overcame the crowd, and I began to see people being seriously trampled as people were fleeing.’
President Trump has said nothing of their deaths himself.
In a brief statement in the White House briefing room, his press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany said: ‘Those who violently besieged our capitol are the opposite of everything this administration stands for.’
She walked away without taking any questions from the press. Trump’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have been locked.