New Jersey hometown honors slain Capitol cop

SOUTH RIVER, N.J. - Family members and friends of Officer Brian Sicknick, some police officers, and elected officials gathered in the officer's hometown to lower a U.S. flag to half staff on Tuesday morning.

"Welcome to South River, New Jersey, the home of Officer Brian Sicknick of the U.S. Capitol Police," Kim Kosa-Tita, a friend, said. "We're here today to honor him with a flag-lowering."

Sicknick died on Jan. 6 as pro-Trump attackers overran the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden as the next president. He was apparently hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, law enforcement sources told The AP.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez spoke at the flag ceremony in South River and presented Sicknick's family with an American flag that was flown over the Capitol. 

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U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick (inset) was fatally wounded while responding to the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. flags over the Capitol were lowered to half-staff. (Handout/pool images)

"Officer Sicknick was a patriot and a hero. He gave his life in defense of that which he took an oath to, the Constitution of the United States of America," Mendendez said. "He gave his life as the Congress of the United States was performing its role under the Constitution, and while others may have walked away, he stood firm. We are in a debt of gratitude when I say we, those of us who are members of Congress who were there that day, our staffs and others who he ultimately gave his life to defend."

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Sicknick grew up in South River and attended Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools. He served six years in the Air National Guard, based out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

The FBI, U.S. attorney, and U.S. Capitol Police are investigating Sicknick's death as well as all the mayhem that happened at the Capitol.