A month after Capitol riot, autopsy results pending in Officer Brian Sicknick death investigation

Exactly one month since rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s official explanation for death has not been launched and nobody has been charged along with his death.

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Robert J. Contee III confirmed at a news conference Thursday that the investigation into Sicknick’s death is ongoing, stressing that police proceed to comb by video proof, in the most recent replace supplied by authorities.

Contee, talking vaguely, additionally steered Sicknick’s accidents could not have been instantly seen. “That determination is made by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, so MPD’s role in that is to make sure that the medical examiner has all of the evidence they need to make that determination,” he stated. “In this situation, with the Capitol insurrection, there were hundreds of videos and all of that kind of stuff — that stuff is being gone through and funneled over to them.”

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Contee stated the health worker’s workplace will make a suggestion, “once they have a better understanding of what exactly to deal with,” including that, “sometimes, and not to speak for the doctors, when they are assessing individuals who may not have visible injuries — that kind of thing — you know they have to be very thorough in their efforts to make a determination in manner and cause of death.”

Exactly how Sicknick died nonetheless stays a thriller to the general public, as an official explanation for death has not been launched.

Media experiences have been conflicting — unnamed regulation enforcement sources initially informed retailers Sicknick was bludgeoned in the top by a fireplace extinguisher, whereas others talking on situation of anonymity countered these claims, arguing there was no quick proof exhibiting that Sicknick suffered any blunt pressure trauma.

As the autopsy results stay pending, investigators are additionally weighing the chance that Sicknick may have died from publicity to a chemical irritant, equivalent to bear mace or pepper spray. It additionally stays unclear whether or not Sicknick had any pre-existing circumstances. 

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., informed Fox News Thursday that its medical experts “comply with the National Association of Medical Examiners’ (NAME) standard to determine the cause and manner of death within 90 days; however, for cases that are more complex it could be longer.”

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“Therefore, when this information is available and the decedent’s next of kin has been notified, I will only provide you with the cause and manner of death,” particular assistant to Chief Medical Examiner Cheryle E. Adams stated Thursday, with out offering specifics. 

Lawmakers paid tribute to Sicknick earlier this week as his stays lied in honor in the Capitol Rotunda earlier than a ceremonial send-off on the steps to Arlington National Cemetery, the place he was interred Wednesday. 

In the one public statement issued by U.S. Capitol Police describing the circumstances surrounding his death, the division stated Sicknick “passed away due to injuries sustained while on-duty.” He died on the hospital at roughly 9:30 p.m. the night of Jan. 7.

Sicknick “was responding to the riots” on Jan. 6 on the U.S. Capitol and “was injured while physically engaging with protesters,” the assertion stated. “He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”

His eldest brother, Brian Sicknick, informed ProPublica in an interview revealed Jan. 8 that Sicknick had texted him on the evening on Jan. 6 to inform him he had been pepper-sprayed however felt fantastic. He informed the outlet his brother was lifeless by the subsequent evening, after struggling a stroke. 

“He texted me last night and said, ‘I got pepper-sprayed twice,’ and he was in good shape,” Ken Sicknick informed the outlet over the cellphone, because the household drove towards Washington, D.C., from New Jersey. “Apparently he collapsed in the Capitol and they resuscitated him using CPR.”

The household later obtained phrase that Brian Sicknick had a blood clot and had had a stroke and a ventilator was maintaining him alive, Ken Sicknick informed ProPublica. Authorities haven’t verified his account, and Ken Sicknick has not returned a Fox News request for remark. 

Fox News additionally requested an replace from U.S. Capitol Police, however a spokesperson declined to remark on an ongoing investigation. 

Two days after the rebel, the Justice Department first launched an investigation into Sicknick’s death. 

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Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen stated in a statement on Jan. 8 that the FBI and D.C. Metropolitan Police Department will collectively examine the case and the Justice Department “will spare no resources in investigating and holding accountable those responsible.”

That day, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) additionally announced a $100,000 reward for info resulting in the arrest of the particular person or individuals accountable for Sicknick’s homicide. Still, no suspect has been publicly recognized or taken into custody.

Meanwhile, a prison criticism filed by the Justice Department alleges that Robert Sanford, a retired firefighter from Pennsylvania, was captured on video hurling what gave the impression to be a fireplace extinguisher at a gaggle of law enforcement officials outdoors the Capitol on Jan. 6. The officers weren’t named in the statement of facts filed in courtroom, and officers, to date, haven’t linked Sanford to Sicknick’s death.

Video considered by FBI investigators purportedly exhibits that the object thrown by Sanford “appears to strike one officer, who was wearing a helmet, in the head,” courtroom paperwork state. “The object then ricochets and strikes another officer, who was not wearing a helmet, in the head. The object then ricochets a third time and strikes a third officer, wearing a helmet, in the head.”

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Sanford has been charged with illegal entry right into a restricted constructing or grounds, disorderly conduct and assault, and resisting or impeding sure officers in their efficiency of official duties. As of Thursday, he has not been charged with murder.