Police Officers Receive Congressional Gold Medals For Jan. 6 Response▼

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Published 112d ago

Nearly two years after the U.S. Capitol was overrun by a mob of supporters of  then-President Donald Trump , some police officers returned to the building for the first time, and their memories of that day are fresh. "The sound of metal poles and other objects striking the bodies, helmets and shields may still ring loudly," said Robert Contee, Metropolitan Police Department chief. The Congressional Gold Medal  is the highest honor Congress can bestow, and House and Senate leaders emphasized how fitting it was to hold the ceremony in the Capitol rotunda. "On Jan. 6, we all witnessed the gleeful desecration of our temple of democracy and a violent insurrection against our republic," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "Exhausted and injured, it was your blood, your sweat and your tears that marked these grounds where we stand today, and you endured this without reluctance," Contee said. Dozens of officers were seriously injured. Four died by suicide afterward, and  Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick  collapsed and died of natural causes after a rioter sprayed him with a chemical. Members of his family and others declined to shake hands with Republican leaders. Source