Brian Sicknick seen getting sprayed with chemical and wiping eyes in Capitol riots video a day before death
New footage, which was sealed earlier, has been released on Wednesday, April 28, that shows Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick being sprayed with “chemical” and cleaning his eyes before his death. The 42-year-old died a day later after defending the Capitol building from rioters on January 6.
The footage showed him stopping the alleged violent supporters of former President Donald Trump from entering the building as Congress attempted to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential race. It also presented the moment when the cop was hit with a chemical spray. He then moved away from the crowd and seemed to use water to wipe off the alleged chemical.
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You can watch the video here.
According to reports, the footage has been released by the US Attorney's office in Washington DC after a motion was filed by media outlets, asking the government to release the footage. Earlier, the video was used in court proceedings in connection to the federal case against Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of West Virginia. The pair has been accused of taking part in the violent riot and attacking three cops with the spray, including Sicknick. They are facing ten federal criminal charges. According to CNN, some body-camera and surveillance videos have also been released, which showed several angles of the attack.
Meanwhile, on Monday, April 19, Washington DC's chief medical examiner, Francisco Diaz, said that the autopsy done on Sicknick discovered that he suffered from two strokes and died of natural causes the day after he had an altercation with the rioters. The test result also stated that he showed no signs of allergy to chemical irritants sprayed on him by the two suspects. He in fact died because of “acute brainstem and cerebellar infarcts due to acute basilar artery thrombosis.”
After the ruling, Capitol Police issued a statement saying that the department “accepts the findings from the Office of the Medical Examiner, but this does not change the fact Officer Brian Sicknick died in the Line of Duty, courageously defending Congress and the Capitol. The Department continues to mourn the loss of our beloved colleague. The attack on our officers, including Brian, was an attack on our democracy.”
A US Capitol Police spokesperson was not happy with the release of the video. They said, “We are disappointed new, graphic videos of USCP officers being assaulted on January 6 were released after a legal challenge filed by several media outlets. Although the department acknowledges the public's desire for information and understands the legal obligation for the Department of Justice to provide the videos, USCP leadership requested the videos not be released to safeguard officers and their families from being forced to relive that traumatic day.”
Now, experts are reportedly worried since the medical examiner’s ruling may work as a hindrance for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in Sicknick's death. Prosecutors have not connected the spraying of the chemical to his death, but based on the footage, they have stated that Sicknick was standing at a police barrier that the crowd was trying to break on the day of the insurrection. The court filings mentioned the deceased officer then came in contact with a chemical sprayed by the protestors.
The clip showed Khater saying, “Give me that bear s**t,” and “They just f**king sprayed me,” prosecutors said. He was then seen carrying a white can, which, prosecutors stated, was the chemical spray that was used to shower on-duty cops. As per the Justice Department, due to Khater’s attack, a police line at the building broke that day, which led to a security breakdown at the Capitol.
Not just Sicknick, two other cops were also affected because of the spray on January 6. Mentioning one female cop's injuries, the prosecutor said in court: “The chemical spray burned her skin to such an extent that three weeks later she still had scabbing under her eyes.”