Police Officers Dead After Capitol Riot
The deaths of two police officers were reported on Monday following Wednesday's violent Pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol. As Donald Trump faces a second impeachment for his encouragement of the "Stop the Steal" riot at the Capitol last week, numerous videos displaying the violence and brutality enacted by his supporters has been circulating online. Much of the footage shows members of the U.S. Capitol Police and D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department being dragged, kicked, and beaten by rioters. According to a statement that was released by USCP, officer Brian D. Sicknick, 42, died on Thursday after succumbing to injuries that he sustained the day prior "while physically engaging with the protestors." Another Capitol Police officer, Howard Liebengood, died by suicide three days after the riot.Before he resigned as U.S. Capitol Police Chief, Steven Sund stated that more than 50 USCP and MPD officers sustained injuries during the attack. In one video, a rioter is seen dragging an officer down the steps of the Capitol building and beating him with a flag pole. In another video, a horde of Trump supporters managed to wedge a policeman in a doorway and continuously attempted to push past him as they sprayed his face with pepper spray.Overall, the police response to the riots was exceptionally poor and disorganized. While some sections of the Capitol were staffed with only one guarding officer, there was also a significant number of officers that were complicit with the rioting. Numerous videos have shown police helping the rioters, including one officer that helped a Trump supporter down the Capitol steps and another that took selfies with the rioters."The violent attack on the U.S. Capitol was unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.," former Capitol Police Chief Sund said. Despite his statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Sund to resign on Thursday, citing the "failure of leadership at the top of the Capitol Police" as the reason that the riot became as horrendous as it was.
