As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks during the service, Biden could be seen jumping out of his seat to grab the toy, shaped like the Capitol dome, and handing it to Abigail Evans, whose father waskilledearlier this month after a driver rammed a barricade outside the Capitol.
“A greater compliment does no one have than the president of the United States looking after your toys,” Pelosi said.
In another scene, 7-year-old Abigail was photographed wiping tears from her mother’s eyes during the service, while her 9-year-old brother Logan could be seenwearing his father’s police hat.
Both children clutched stuffed animals throughout the ceremony.
President Joe Biden (left) hands Abigail Evans (sitting, center) a toy at the Tuesday memorial service for her father, Billy Evans,.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
Evans was an 18-year veteran of the Capitol Police, having joined the department in 2003, according to astatementfrom acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman.
During the altercation, other officers fatally shot the suspect, 25-year-old Noah Green.
As his flag-draped casket was brought into the Capitol on Tuesday, where it was lying in honor, Biden delivered a speech to the assembled crowd.
“Mrs. Evans, you have — I have some idea of what you’re feeling like. I buried two of my children,” Biden said. “And people have come up to you and are going to come up to you for some time and say, ‘I know how you feel.’ … And after a while — you know everybody means well — you feel like saying, “You have no idea.' "
Shannon Terranova (left) and Abigail Evans.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
“Losing a son, daughter, brother, sister, mom, dad — it’s like losing a piece of your soul,” Biden said. “But it’s buried deep, but it comes back.”
Friends and colleagues haveremembered Evansas someone who was “always happy, always laughing,” and loved his kids.
Jason LaForest, a North Adams City Council member and childhood friend of Evans, toldNPRthat he “had an infectious laugh and an infectious smile.”
“There isn’t a picture of those kids that doesn’t show them not just smiling but smiling broadly, and you know that there’s a laugh behind all of that,” LaForest said. “Billy’s a guy who could make a trip to the dump look like a truly good time, and he certainly made every moment count with his children.”
In his remarks delivered before the Evans family on Tuesday, Biden called Evans “a hero.”
“Your son, your husband, your brother, your dad was a hero. And he’s part of you. It’s in your blood,” the president said. “My prayer for you is that moment when a smile comes before the tear, quicker than longer.”
source: people.com
