WASHINGTON (WAND) - The cause of death for a U.S. Capitol Police officer who died after the January breach of the U.S. Capitol was natural causes, a medical examiner's report said.Â
During the Jan. 6 invasion by supporters of former President Donald Trump in Washington, Officer Brian Sicknick was "sprayed with a chemical substance outside the U.S. Capitol," according to the office of Chief Medical Examiner Francisco Diaz. Two men, Julian Khater and George Tanios, were arrested in March and accused of assaulting Sicknick with a chemical spray.Â
The report said at 10 p.m. on the night on Jan. 6, Sicknick collapsed at the Capitol building and went to a hospital. He died at about 9:30 p.m. the next night.Â
CNBC reports Sicknick's official cause of death is listed as "acute brainstem and cerebellar infarcts due to acute basilar artery thrombosis." The manner of death was described as "natural".Â
That term is used if a death is only caused by a disease and isn't hastened by injury, the report from Diaz said. But Diaz did say in an interview with The Washington Post that Sicknick confronted the rioters hours before he collapsed, adding "all that transpired played a role in his condition."Â
In a press release on Jan. 7, Capitol Police said Sicknick "passed away due to injuries sustained while on-duty."Â
The medical examiner's findings could make it either very difficult or impossible for there to be any murder charges in the Sicknick case.Â
Capitol police issued a statement to NBC on Monday evening saying they accepted the findings in the Sicknick case, "but this does not change the fact Officer Brian Sicknick died in the line of duty, courageously defending Congress and the Capitol."Â
“The department continues to mourn the loss of our beloved colleague. The attack on our officers, including Brian, was an attack on our democracy,” the statement said.Â
Police added law enforcement "will continue to ensure those responsible for the assault against officers are held accountable."
