According to Washington, D.C.'s chief medical officer, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes.
Officer Sicknick's death has become part of the media narrative stemming from the January 6th U.S. Capitol breach. Sicknick was sprayed with bear spray during the event.
The officer returned to work the next day and collapsed in his office. Sicknick later died at the hospital.
From The Washington Post:
In an interview with The Washington Post, Francisco J. Diaz, the medical examiner, said the autopsy found no evidence the 42-year-old officer suffered an allergic reaction to chemical irritants, which Diaz said would have caused Sicknick’s throat to quickly seize. Diaz also said there was no evidence of internal or external injuries.
Diaz added, 'Sicknick suffered two strokes at the base of his brain stem caused by a clot in an artery that supplies blood to that area of the body.'
Julian Khater and George Tanios have been arrested in connection with spraying Officer Sicknick with bear spray. In video evidence, Khater is heard telling Tanios, 'give me that bear sh--.' With today's cause of death it's going to become much harder for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges.
What happened to Sicknick was wrong. What happened at the U.S. Capitol was wrong. Those who have been caught should be held accountable, including Khater and Tanios for spraying Sicknick with bear spray.
Additionally, this once again calls into question the corporate media, social media users, and politician's rush to judgment. As The Post points out, on January 8th acting U.S. attorney general Jeffrey Rosen put out a statement saying Sicnick died of, 'the injuries he suffered defending the U.S. Capitol.'
It's not the first time, nor will it be the last time rushing frame the narrative becomes more important than the truth. It's impossible to put the toothpaste back in the tube. The false narrative is out there that Sicknick died as a result of the Capitol riot. The truth doesn't matter. It never has. Politicians, in particular, will use people's death to inflate their own causes and pretend they care. They've done it with COVID. They've done it with Sicknick. Their quest for power and control knows limits.
That's what is truly dangerous.