In accordance with the presidential proclamation, Gov. Kay Ivey has directed that flags be displayed at half-staff in honor of United States Capitol Police officers Brian D. Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, as well as all Capitol Police officers and law enforcement across this nation.
Ivey is directing that flags be flown at half-staff until sunset on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021.
Brian Sicknick was a Capitol Police officer who died from injuries received defending the Capitol building from an angry mob of Trump loyalists who fought their way through security on Wednesday. Sicknick was able to make his way back to his station where he collapsed and was rushed to a hospital and had to be put on life support. He died at the hospital later Thursday night. Sicknick was 42 years old. He was a 12-year veteran of the Capitol Police who previously served in the Iraq War.
Howard Liebengood was off-duty when the mob attacked the Capitol. The 15-year veteran of the Capitol Police rushed to the scene to join his fellow officers in their attempt to defend the Congress.
“The United States Capitol Police is deeply saddened by the off-duty death on January 9, 2021, of Officer Howard Liebengood, age 51,” the Capitol Police said in a statement. “He was assigned to the Senate Division, and has been with the Department since April 2005. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and colleagues. We ask that his family, and other USCP officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected during this profoundly difficult time.”
A cause of death for Officer Liebengood was not immediately released.
According to the Capitol Police, over 50 officers from the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department suffered injuries in the attack. Several of the officers have required hospitalization.
“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.,” said Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund in a statement. “Make no mistake – these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior.”
Sund has since resigned along with the sergeants-at-arms of both the House and the Senate.
Ashli Babbitt, age 35, was an Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer when she broke through a window trying to get into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Rosanne Boyland, age 34; Benjamin Phillips, age 50; and Kevin Greeson, age 55 of Athens, Alabama, all died from “medical emergencies.”
Despite the efforts of the mob, Congress met later that night and certified President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the election. President Donald Trump has promised a peaceful transition of power.
