Tragic irony: Officer killed by
Capitol Hill mob was a Trump supporter
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The police officer killed on Capitol Hill by a mob whipped into
a violent frenzy by Donald Trump was a fellow supporter of the
soon-to-be-ex-president.
Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, was pepper-sprayed and hit in the
head as he battled the invaders, his father said.
Ambulance crews twice resuscitated the Gulf War veteran as he
was rushed to a nearby Washington hospital but he died the next
day.
Sicknick gave his life defending democracy against a raging mob.
Photo: AP
“He ended up with a clot on the brain,” his father said. “If
they had operated on him, he would’ve become a vegetable.
“He loved his job … I’ll never get over this.”
Mr Sicknick was a Trump supporter, his father said, adding that
his son’s political views never interfered with the execution of
his duty to protect and serve.
His first big assignment was working at former President Barack
Obama’s inauguration in 2009. He had just been sworn in with the US
Capitol Police Department at the time, fulfilling a lifelong
dream.
His death is being investigated as a homicide by the Washington
Metropolitan Police and FBI, which have made a series of arrrests
since the melee.
As a member of the department’s First Responder’s Unit, Sicknick
was the sixth US Capitol Police officer to die in the line of
duty.
Sicknick’s father said Vice-President Mike Pence and House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the family on Friday to
offer their condolences.
Donald Trump’s supporters storm Capitol Hill. Photo:
AP
During the call, Pelosi invited the family to the Capitol to
pick out a spot for a plaque that will be made in Sicknick’s
honour. Funeral services will also be held at the Capitol,
according to his father.
Trump has not publicly commented on the officer’s death or the
other four people who died when his supporters overran the Capitol
building this week following Trump’s “Save America” rally where the
president exhorted his followers to fight.
“If any good comes out of my son’s death, I just hope that it
stops all the lunacy that’s been going on in this country,” his
father said.
The National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC),
Lagos branch, has appealed to all heads of court, the Chief Justice
of Nigeria, the president, Court of Appeal, the president, National
Industrial Court, the Chief Judge of Federal High Court and Chief
Judges of the 36 states as well as stakeholders in the justice
sector to assist in the provisions of press centres in all the
courts across the country.
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
The association in a letter to the CJN and other heads of court
across the country, signed by its chairman, Peter Fowoyo, stated
that the rules of the court during the Covid-19 pandemic and the
constraint of space are preventing journalists from effectively
covering the judiciary beat.
![image](/2020/10/NWLRland.jpg")
According to NAJUC, “while this may not be deliberate on the
part of the judiciary, we must urgently address the issue so as to
preserve the constitutional role of the media viz-a-viz that of the
third arm of government. Now is the time for both to work as
partners in progress for a better society, both working together in
harmony.”
The association further commiserated with the judiciary over
losses incurred during the EndSARS protest where the Lagos Division
of the Court of Appeal, Lagos High Court and the Chief Magistrates
Court, Igbosere were burnt by hoodlums.
“As an association, we remain grateful to the Lagos Division of
the Court of Appeal for providing a press centre, where journalists
from different media organisations converge on a daily basis to
write and file stories to their medium. We thank immensely, the
Deputy Court Registrar, Mrs Rashidat Rasheed, who has always
received us into her office as an association.
“This press centre, unfortunately, refurbished with the sum of
N12 million and commissioned by a representative of the Deputy
Court Registrar (DCR) in October 2019, was among several other
offices and buildings set ablaze by the hoodlums. Some of the items
lost to the inferno include furniture, computers, internet
facility, air conditioners, fridge, television and other valuables,
to mention a few.
“Our courts, in the 21st century are built without press centres
and press galleries for journalists assigned to the judiciary beat.
It is against this backdrop that we appeal to your Lordships to
consider the inclusion of press centres in all the courts across
the country.
“We are not unmindful of your efforts, even in the face of
intimidation and unnecessary interference by the executive arm, to
ensure justice is dispensed without fear or favour, and at an
improved timeframe, notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic. We dare
to say, it can be improved upon! Be rest assured of our continued
cooperation and commitment towards a symbiotic relationship that
has hitherto existed between the judiciary and the media,”
judiciary correspondents said.