SOUTH RIVER, N.J. (WCBS 880) — The Capitol police officer who died of injuries he suffered while responding to Wednesday's riots was a New Jersey native.
U.S. Capitol Police said Officer Brian Sicknick was injured while physically engaging with protesters and was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed upon returning to his division office.
Sources told the Associated Press that Sicknick was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher during the struggle.
The 42-year-old officer succumbed to his injuries Thursday night.
"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 department said.
Sicknick was a native of South River and graduated from Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School.
Sicknick enlisted in the New Jersey Air National Guard in 1997 and served as a Fire Team Member and Leader at the 108th Security Force Squadron, 108th Wing, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
He deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1999 in support of Operation Southern Watch and Kyrgyzstan in 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was honorably discharged in 2003.
"Staff Sgt. Sicknick’s commitment to service and protect his community, state, and nation will never be forgotten," said Lt. Col. Barbara Brown, State Public Affairs Officer, New Jersey National Guard. "Our condolences and thoughts are with his family, friends and those who worked with him during his law enforcement career."
Gov. Phil Murphy mourned the officer's passing saying in a statement that Sicknick "embodied the selfless spirit of his native state."
"Tammy and I send our deepest condolences to Officer Sicknick's family and friends, as well as to his United States Capitol Police colleagues and the Guardsmen and Guardswomen he served alongside. We thank him for his service to our nation," Murphy said. "Officer Sicknick gave his life protecting the United States Capitol, and by extension, our very democracy, from violent insurrection. His needless murder at the hands of a mob bent on overthrowing the Constitution he had dedicated his life to upholding is shocking. It is my fervent hope that the rioters whose actions directly contributed to his death are quickly identified and brought to justice."
South River Mayor John Krenzel knows the family and said this hurts.
"It's a shock to South River. South River is a small community. When something like this happens, we come together," Krenzel said.
Sicknick's brother wants the officer remembered as a hero.
Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School will plant an oak tree in Sicknick's memory to symbolize his strength.
Sicknick joined the Capitol Police in July 2008, and most recently served in the Department’s First Responder’s Unit.
His death is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, U.S. Capitol Police, and federal partners.
Sicknick was the fifth person to die because of the Capitol riots.