At the request of the family, Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) spoke Wednesday at the funeral of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, who died after responding to the January 6 riot at the Capitol building, calling the fallen officer “one of our best.”
“He joined the Air Force with a mission to serve our nation’s defense. He lived for others,” Crenshaw told mourners gathered at Arlington National Cemetery for the funeral, according to remarks released by his office. “After he was injured on January 6th, he spent his last remaining hours texting fellow officers and checking in on them. People needed Brian, because he was a good man, because he was one of our best.”
“There is another common thread that links those buried here at Arlington with Brian,” he said. “These are protectors. These are the men and women that stand in the breach. That gap between the helpless and the aggressor, between right and wrong, between good and evil. Many like to think they too could stand in that gap, but they’d be wrong.”
The funeral occurred after Sicknick lay in honor at the Capitol building, a tribute reserved for the most exemplary of private citizens. Back in 1998, two Capitol police officers, Jacob J. Chestnut and John M. Gibson, who were killed in the line of duty were chosen to lie in honor. Only two others have been selected for the designation since then: Rosa Parks and Reverend Billy Graham.
According to the United States Capitol Police Department, Sicknick died at the hospital the day after he was “injured while physically engaging with protesters.” Investigators have since struggled to build a murder case due to a “lack of evidence that could prove someone caused his death as he defended the Capitol,” reports CNN.
In his funeral speech, Crenshaw observed: “This past year has been a low point, no doubt, but it is men like Brian that remind us of the grit and tenacity and good character that America was built on. He may not be with us anymore, but if we are to honor him then we should do so by using his memory as a reminder of what this country can be.”
“A reminder that there are indeed more like him. A reminder that the bravery and love inside of Brian Sicknick is not peculiar to him, but part of the American DNA. A reminder that our duty is to make these heroes proud, prove to them that their sacrifice was for a country worth sacrificing for. That we are a people worth sacrificing for. With men like Brian standing in the gap, it is hard to imagine that we are not,” he said.
Crenshaw concluded: “This is still the greatest country on earth. This is still the great American experiment that has done more good for mankind than any other civilization in history. We will not forget that fact just because times are hard. We will persevere and strive to be better, and do justice to the memory of those buried here. Officer Brian Sicknick, may you rest easy here on these hallowed grounds. You are in good company. You have undoubtedly earned your place here amongst America’s best. God bless you. God bless this great country.”