The U.S. Capitol police confirmed the “off-duty death” of an officer on Jan. 9.
The police force confirmed that the “Capitol Police is deeply saddened by the off-duty death on January 9, 2021, of Officer Howard Liebengood, age 51.”
“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,” according to the office.
It came days after a Capitol police officer died on Jan. 7 due to injuries while on duty as officers responded to riots that broke out in the midst of unrest in Washington.
The officer, Brian Sicknick, died at about 9:30 p.m., according to the police force, adding that it “expresses its deepest sympathies to Officer Sicknick’s family and friends on their loss, and mourns the loss of a friend and colleague.”
He was “injured while physically engaging with protesters,” according to the USCP. “He returned to this division office and collapsed,” the department’s announcement reads. “He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”
Sicknick’s father said Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the family on Friday to offer their condolences. 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 honor. Funeral services will also be held at the Capitol, according to his father.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Air Force veteran, Ashli Babbitt, was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer amid the chaos.
Videos of the Capitol breach suggest a lack of communication between the officers, said Mark Lomax, who was executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association, and is now CEO of the consulting firm Lancer Cobbs. “There were police on the protesters side, engaged and embedded with these individuals,” he said. “It did not seem like a threatening situation for the officers.”
Reuters and AP contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
