Hoyer says he expects there will be a memorial for fallen Capitol Police officer

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday that he expects there will be a memorial to honor the police officer who died from injuries sustained while trying to defend the Capitol from a violent mob of Trump supporters.

The Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died Thursday night at the age of 42. He had served on the force for 12 years.

Multiple reports indicated that rioters bludgeoned him in the head with a fire extinguisher during Wednesday’s assault on the Capitol building.

Hoyer said the specifics of a memorial had not been determined yet, such as the possibility of Sicknick lying in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.

The Maryland Democrat compared a possible memorial for Sicknick to the plaque at the Capitol’s Memorial Door near where Capitol Police Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson died in 1998 when an intruder entered the building and opened fire.

Both Chestnut and Gibson also laid in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.

“We have not talked about that, as to what that will be. As you know, somebody from my district, J.J. Chestnut, is on the wall on Memorial Door, along with Detective Gibson. So certainly we’re going to honor this fallen officer who was killed in the line of duty and trying to defend this Capitol, people inside the Capitol and our democracy, and deserves our honor and praise and thanks,” Hoyer told reporters.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who represents the Northern Virginia district where Sicknick lived, called for him to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.

“He made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting those trapped in the Capitol amid a violent assault on our democracy itself,” Beyer said in a statement.

There is a slight distinction for people granted the rare tribute in the Capitol Rotunda; government officials and military officers lie in state, while private citizens lie in honor.

Sicknick’s family said in a statement Monday that “he was sweet natured through and through” and “loved his job with the U.S. Capitol Police, and was very passionate about it.”

“Everyone who met him adored him. He also loved his dachshunds dearly, spoiling them, and ensuring they got the best care possible,” the family’s statement read.

More than 50 Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers were injured during Wednesday’s attack.

The Capitol Police announced on Sunday that Howard Liebengood, an officer who had been on the force since 2005, died while off duty.