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EXCLUSIVE: He was the martyred face of the Capitol riot but now mother of hero cop Brian Sicknick says she believes her son died of a fatal stroke - not a fire extinguisher to the head - while authorities won't say a word

  The mother of the US Capitol police officer who died following the riot on January 6 believes that her son succumbed to a fatal stroke - t...

 


The mother of the US Capitol police officer who died following the riot on January 6 believes that her son succumbed to a fatal stroke - that he was not bludgeoned to death by a fire extinguisher as reported.

Yet more than one month after Officer Brian Sicknick's death on January 7, she has admitted that they are still in the dark as to what exactly caused that catastrophic episode.

Speaking exclusively Gladys Sicknick, 74, was unequivocal in her assertion that Officer Brian Sicknick was not struck on the head and that as far as the family knows her son had a fatal stroke.

She said, ‘He wasn’t hit on the head no. We think he had a stroke, but we don’t know anything for sure.

‘We’d love to know what happened.'

Because, while politicians have grandstanded and rushed to judgment no one has yet given the family the answers they need. 

No one could dispute the tragedy of the death of the 42-year-old officer who spent his final hours protecting the US Capitol.

But in the six weeks since his death the truth has taken a backseat to the myth of the brutal attack. Democratic Impeachment Managers even brazenly cited the incident - that he was stricken in the head by a fire extinguisher - as fact in pre-trial articles filed February 2 despite already growing doubts.   

Now DailyMail.com has unpacked fact from fiction in an attempt to extract Sicknick’s death from the misinformation in which it was mired before it even happened.

US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, died on January 7, one day after he was pepper sprayed while trying to defend the Capitol building from violent protesters
Sicknick is seen in his police uniform in an undated family photo

US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, died on January 7, one day after he was pepper sprayed while trying to defend the Capitol building from violent protesters 

Sicknick's mother Gladys (far right) 76, told DailyMail.com the family believes her son may have suffered a fatal stroke but they 'don't know anything for sure.' Pictured: Sicknick's father, Charles (far left) his longtime girlfriend Sandra, and his mother

Sicknick's mother Gladys (far right) 76, told DailyMail.com the family believes her son may have suffered a fatal stroke but they 'don't know anything for sure.' Pictured: Sicknick's father, Charles (far left) his longtime girlfriend Sandra, and his mother

Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick lies in honor in the Rotunda of the US Capitol February 3

Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick lies in honor in the Rotunda of the US Capitol February 3

A hearse carrying the cremated remains of Sicknick was seen leaving the Capitol, where he had been lying in honor on February 3

A hearse carrying the cremated remains of Sicknick was seen leaving the Capitol, where he had been lying in honor on February 3

The president and First Lady held their hands to their hearts as they took a moment in front of the urn on Tuesday
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the ‘perpetrators’ of Sicknick’s ‘attack’ to be brought to justice and vowed, ‘We will not forget.’

The president and First Lady held their hands to their hearts as they took a moment in front of the urn. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the ‘perpetrators’ of Sicknick’s ‘attack’ to be brought to justice and vowed, ‘We will not forget'


The first reports that an officer had been killed were premature and emerged on January 6. US Capitol Police were swift to issue a denial.

It is now known that Officer Sicknick was on life support at the time and his death was confirmed barely 24 hours later at 9.30pm on January 7.

The official statement was measured and vague as to the cause. According to the police, ‘Officer Brian D Sicknick passed away due to injuries sustained while on duty.’

Capitol Police are yet to confirm Sicknick's official cause of death and have only said he died from 'injuries sustained while on duty'

Capitol Police are yet to confirm Sicknick's official cause of death and have only said he died from 'injuries sustained while on duty'

It continued, ‘Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.’

Yet despite this statement issued on January 7 the following day on January 8 The New York Times were reporting that, ‘…pro-Trump supporters…overpowered Mr Sicknick, 42, and struck him in the head with a fire extinguisher according to two law enforcement officials. With a bloody gash in his head, Mr Sicknick was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support.’

DailyMail.com has confirmed with Douglas Buchanan, Chief of Communications for DC’s Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services that Sicknick was not ‘rushed to hospital’ from the Capitol. But did indeed return to his division department as stated.

In fact, the very day that The New York Times account ran, Sicknick’s own brother, Ken, spoke with ProPublica and said that his brother had been in good spirits and had texted him after returning to the department.

He said, ‘He texted me last night and said, “I got pepper-sprayed twice,” and he was in good shape.’

The deadly riots marked a tragic end to a life of service for the officer (pictured with parents during his ceremony) who enlisted in the National Guard six months after graduating high school in 1997

The deadly riots marked a tragic end to a life of service for the officer (pictured with parents during his ceremony) who enlisted in the National Guard six months after graduating high school in 1997

Sicknick lived in Springfield, Virginia with his girlfriend of 11 years, Sandra Garza and their two rescue dachshunds

Sicknick lived in Springfield, Virginia with his girlfriend of 11 years, Sandra Garza and their two rescue dachshunds

According to his family, Sicknick (first from left in second row from the top) wanted to be a police officer all of his life and joined the National Guard as a means to that end

According to his family, Sicknick (first from left in second row from the top) wanted to be a police officer all of his life and joined the National Guard as a means to that end

Sicknick's father told Reuters that his son had been placed on a ventilator upon his arrival at the hospital

Sicknick's father told Reuters that his son had been placed on a ventilator upon his arrival at the hospital 

That same day, January 8, Sicknick’s father, Charles, 81, told Reuters that on January 7, as they rushed from their homes in New Jersey to DC, the family were told that Sicknick had a blood clot on his brain and had suffered a stroke. He was being kept alive on a ventilator but was dead by the time they got there.

Yet these few publicly available facts were bulldozed over by political fervor and it was the unattributed account of a brutal attack, also reported by the Associated Press, that gained traction.

Less than 24 hours after his death, with no autopsy, no confirmation of any sign of blunt trauma, no investigation nor due process, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the ‘perpetrators’ of Sicknick’s ‘attack’ to be brought to justice and vowed, ‘We will not forget.’

Despite the family’s earnest desire to the contrary, Sicknick’s death was politicized and seized on as an exemplar of all of the savagery of the pro-Trump mob’s assault on the temple of American democracy.


On January 10 when video emerged of a rioter hurling a fire extinguisher towards law enforcement on the steps of the Capitol it was co-opted into the narrative as evidence of the protesters’ lethal force.

Four days later, on January 14, retired Philadelphia firefighter Robert Sanford, 55, was arrested as the rioter in the video. His charges included assault of a police officer, disorderly conduct, civil disorder and unlawful entry of the Capitol.

The fire extinguisher he hurled was reported by AP to have ‘bounced off the heads of three officers, two of whom were wearing helmets.’

None of the charges related to Officer Sicknick and yet the narrative continued to run unchecked with not one leader acknowledging the ongoing investigation or the complete absence of any certainty amid the melee of misreporting.

On February 2 Democratic Impeachment Managers filed their pre-trial articles in which they ignored all doubts and evidence to the contrary and stated as fact, ‘The insurgents killed a Capitol police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher'

On February 2 Democratic Impeachment Managers filed their pre-trial articles in which they ignored all doubts and evidence to the contrary and stated as fact, ‘The insurgents killed a Capitol police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher'

During the siege of the Capitol, Sicknick was pepper-sprayed and hit in the head, according to his father. He appeared to be fine after the mob dispersed, but was rushed to the hospital later that evening after suffering a medical episode. He died the following day. Pictured: police and protesters clashing outside the building on January 6

During the siege of the Capitol, Sicknick was pepper-sprayed and hit in the head, according to his father. He appeared to be fine after the mob dispersed, but was rushed to the hospital later that evening after suffering a medical episode. He died the following day. Pictured: police and protesters clashing outside the building on January 6 

Family members, including Sicknick's mother Gladys (circled left) and father Charles (circled right), watched as an honor guard to carries an urn with the slain officer's remains down the steps of the Capitol

Family members, including Sicknick's mother Gladys (circled left) and father Charles (circled right), watched as an honor guard to carries an urn with the slain officer's remains down the steps of the Capitol 

On February 2 CNN reported that investigators were ‘vexed’ by the lack of evidence linking anyone with Sicknick’s death. According to their source medical examiners had found no sign of blunt trauma.

Yet that very day Democratic Impeachment Managers filed their pre-trial articles in which they ignored all doubts and evidence to the contrary and stated as fact, ‘The insurgents killed a Capitol police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher.’  

On February 3, the 42-year-old cop became only the fifth person to lie in honor in the Capitol as a non-elected official, judge of military leader.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris paid their respects during two days of visitation, as did members of Congress.

Hundreds of officers lined the Capitol’s East front after the ceremony and saluted the hearse that transported Sicknick’s urn to Arlington National Cemetery where he was interred: so much ceremony and outrage; so little certainty.

Last week, long after the first doubts were cast, the New York Times quietly rowed back their first reports stating, ‘new information has emerged regarding the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police.’

Today, more than a month after his death, the Medical Examiner has yet to return a cause of death and the FBI and federal prosecutors are struggling to put together a murder case.

Last week it emerged that new video footage is being examined in a bid to identify suspects and anything that might help establish what led to the officer’s death; a death still being treated as a homicide despite the absence of a cause of death or any persons of interest.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that investigators are now considering an adverse reaction to the bear spray with which rioters sprayed cops as a potential factor.

A research paper into the health hazards of capsaicin, the active ingredient in both pepper and bear spray, uncovered by DailyMail.com and published by the University of North Carolina, found that one potentially lethal side effect of inhalation was, ‘acute hypertension (similar to ammonia inhalation), which in turn can cause headache and increase the risk of stroke.’

But pepper spray – used by both cops and rioters - has a higher percentage of this active ingredient than bear spray, rioters reported seeing cops sprayed with their own pepper spray amid the confusion and Sicknick told his brother he had been sprayed twice by pepper spray.

Indeed DailyMail.com has learned that one officer was admitted to hospital suffering adverse symptoms on January 6 having inhaled pepper spray which was being liberally used by both law enforcement and rioters.

According to Douglas Buchanan Chief of Communications for DC’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS), ‘The officer was treated on the scene and seemed to be fine but when his vitals were taken his blood pressure was very high and it was decided that he should be transported to hospital for further treatment.’

If Officer Sicknick was suffering any such ill-effects from inhaling the chemicals that clouded the air that day, he was unaware of them or simply did not seek treatment on the scene.

Instead, he returned to the police department and texted his older brother, Ken, to let him know that he was in ‘good shape,’ before collapsing.

DC’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services declined DailyMail.com’s request for further details regarding the emergency call placed for Sicknick or his transportation to hospital, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

But speaking to Reuters shortly after his son’s death, Sicknick’s father, Charles, 81, said that his son had been resuscitated twice on the way to the hospital and placed on a ventilator on arrival.

It was a tragic end to a life of service for the officer who enlisted in the National Guard six months after graduating high school in 1997, deploying to Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan.


Sicnick's family said intense speculation that has swirled up around his death and its politicizing has only compounded their pain

Sicnick's family said intense speculation that has swirled up around his death and its politicizing has only compounded their pain

According to his family he had wanted to be a police officer all of his life and joined the National Guard as a means to that end. He had been an officer with the US Capitol Police since 2008 and lived in Springfield, Virginia with his girlfriend of 11 years, Sandra Garza and their two rescue dachshunds.

Today, Sicknick’s mother said that the family are still waiting for an explanation as to why her son ended up on life support just hours after telling his sibling he was fine.

She said that the intense speculation that has swirled up around his death and its politicizing has only compounded the family’s pain.

She said, ‘It hasn’t helped, no. It’s very hard not knowing [what happened] but we have to wait for a finding just like everybody else.’

For now, all they can do is try to process a devastating personal loss that they have been forced to play out on the national stage, as they hope for a cause that makes sense of it all.

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