Capitol Police Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans To Lie In Honor : NPR

Police Officer William “Billy” Evans on Tuesday will lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol, where he served for 18 years and lost his life in the line of duty earlier this month.

Evans was killed on April 2, when a driver rammed his vehicle into the north barricade of the Capitol complex, slamming into Evans and another officer before crashing into a barrier. The suspect in the incident — the second attack on the Capitol this year — was 25-year-old Noah Green, who was shot by at least one officer and who later died.

In a statement issued shortly after his death, Evans’ family described him as “the best father, son, brother, and friend anyone could ever hope for.”

“His death has left a gaping void in our lives that will never be filled,” the family said.

Evans is only the sixth Capitol police officer to die in the line of duty in the nearly 200 years since the force was created. He was the second to die in the line of duty this year alone, following the death of Officer Brian Sicknick, who sustained fatal injuries during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection by pro-Trump extremists.

President Biden is set to be among those paying his respects to Evans at the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday.

“For everyone who works in the Senate, his loss is particularly painful,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Monday. “He was a familiar face who greeted lawmakers, reporters, staffers and employees at the North entrance as we entered the Senate side of the building. Whether you knew him or not, his wide smile was often the first thing you’d see in the morning.”

The deadly attack and the insurrection have reignited a debate over security and fencing at the Capitol complex.