Senator Booker Delivers Remarks on the Senate Floor Honoring Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick 

Booker: “Officer Sicknick is the very definition of a hero and he deserves to be remembered for the richness of his life, the way that he loved, the devotion that he gave this nation. That he is no longer with us today is a grievous tragedy and it is also a crime…and anyone who still harbors doubts about what happened here on January 6th should think of him.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Cory Booker delivered remarks on the Senate floor on the life and service of United States Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, the New Jersey native who was killed in the attack on the Capitol on January 6^th.

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Full Text of Speech

“In the Christian faith, there is a saying no greater love hath a man than this, than to give his life for his friends. I rise today to talk about that kind of sacrifice that kind of love and ultimately, that tragedy and the death of a man who is a hero.  Mr. President, Officer Brian David Sicknick was many things. He was a loving son to his parents, Gladys and Charles Sicknick, a loving brother to Ken and Craig Sicknick and a loving partner of eleven years to Sandra. Garza. He loved his two dachshunds, Sparky and Pebbles and he took great care of them. Many of us got to know Officer Sicknick, because he served on the Capital Police Department. He was someone who loved his job and understood that every day when you put on that uniform when you come to the capital of the greatest power on the planet, the United States of America, that wearing that uniform wearing that badge that you had a sacred duty to protect this sacred space.

I’m proud to say that Officer Sicknick was a Jersey guy through and through. He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey raised in South River and he lived a life committed to the greatest calling you can have, which is to serve others to protect others to defend not just your nation, but it’s her citizens. He was a member of the New Jersey Air National Guard, loved his country and I’m proud to say he loved Jersey too. He was a New Jersey Devils fan and he proudly, in his work and commitment, served his country in the 108th Security Forces Squadron in Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan.

And Officer Sicknick was a reliable and cherished colleague. If you talk to those who knew him, they knew that he was a man of honor and decency and kindness. They knew he loved this job. He loved being a Capitol Police officer.

He loved serving this nation. He loved helping people. He loved his work. That love is evident. So many stories shared by his family and friends, people who in this time of painful grief are still celebrating the life he lived, even though it was cut short by hate. People speak to his character and the qualities, the values that made him so special. He was kind. He was patient. And like many of those who rise in their service to this country, he was humble and he was selfless.

You talk to people who knew him really well and they remember him as the kind of officer who would go out of his way, not just in his service to those of us who frequent the Capital, but to make sure that his colleagues, his fellow Capitol Police officers were also doing okay. He was not just a leader, he was a servant. And they remember him living with that sense of honor and that sense of duty.

They remember him as the kind of person who would stand courageously in the face of a colleague who would sacrifice for them who believed that service meant commitment, meant bringing your grit and your guts and your love and that is what he did. On January 6th, 2021, when a violent mob attacked this Capital, Officer Sicknick stood for America, he stood for this Capital and all of its inhabitants.

He was steadfast. He was courageous. He stood in the breach to protect the lives of the members of this body, their staffs, personnel. He faced down terrorist attackers and sacrificed himself his own safety, his own security and ultimately his life in the name of love of country, country men and women.

Officer Sicknick is the very definition of a hero and he deserves to be remembered for the richness of his life, the way that he loved the devotion that he gave this nation. That he is no longer with us today is a grievous tragedy and it is also a crime. This great man was murdered. This crime demands the full attention of federal law enforcement officials and anyone who still harbors doubts about what happened here on January 6th, should think of him. On January 6^th, when extremists when terrorists when white supremacists attacked our nation’s capital, they took the life of one of our officers. They spilled his blood, they took our son away from his parents. They took a sibling away from their brothers.

They committed this treachery while waving flags, claiming solidarity, some of them with law enforcement. But it was hate. It was hate — it was hate that brought terror to our capital and the death of one of our sons.

So many of the words that led up to that day, the lies that were told the incitement and the encouragement came from the highest office of our land, to dotted members of authority across our country. These collective actions that led to the moment terrorists who are directly responsible as well. In the aftermath, a hero, a Capitol Police officer is dead a champion a hero.

This is a senseless tragedy, an awful crime. I’m not alone when I say to Officer Sicknick’s family and loved ones that we — that I vow to hold those responsible for this heinous crime accountable. We must honor Officer Sicknick’s heroism and sacrifice, not just with our words but by what we do here in the coming days, what we do as a nation, how we all take responsibility in the aftermath of a horrific moment.

Officer Sicknick died for this country, he did not die in vain. And we the living, must, must continue with his level of courage as we tell the truth, as we hold others responsible for account, as we try to live in the spirit that he lived with humility, honor, courage, kindness, love, decency. May Officer Brian Sicknick always be remembered for his service to the country he loved and may we rise to his example and honor him and all those who have fallen in defense of this nation. May we honor them in how we live for this country.”

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