Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

FBI Director Wray won’t share Officer Brian Sicknick’s cause of death with senators

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday refused to tell senators the cause of death for Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, whose death heavily influenced coverage of the Capitol riot.

Reports after Jan. 6 originally said Sicknick died after being bludgeoned by a fire extinguisher while fighting off then-President Donald Trump’s supporters, which authorities didn’t deny at the time. The claim became part of the impeachment trial case against Trump for allegedly inciting the riot — though his family now says it’s untrue.

Wray cited an “ongoing” investigation into Sicknick’s death.

“I certainly understand and respect and appreciate the keen interest in what happened to him — after all, he was here protecting all of you. And as soon as there is information that we can appropriately share, we want to be able to do that. But at the moment, the investigation is still ongoing,” Wray said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

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Thousands at Oakland Coliseum received wrong vaccine dosage, medical staff say

Thousands of people who visited the mass vaccination site at the Oakland Coliseum received the wrong vaccine dosages this week, raising questions about the effectiveness of the medication, according to two medical workers who contacted KTVU.

People who received too little of the Pfizer doses received their vaccines on Monday before 2 p.m. But at that point, the issue was identified and was stopped by that evening, according to the EMTs, who asked to remain anonymous in order to keep their jobs, and which was confirmed by state officials. That is the only day and time period in question. 

One EMT estimated that 4,300 people had been given the shots by then. A total of 6,000 people can be vaccinated at that site during the weekdays. 

State officials dispute the notion that anyone will be less protected by the smaller vaccine doses, although another infectious disease expert said there’s not enough science to prove that yet. The claim comes at a time when people nationwide are clamoring to get vaccinated, and as shortages and confusion about making appointments and who is eligible, abound. 

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Kentucky bill would make it a crime to insult or taunt police officers

A bill advancing out of a Kentucky Senate committee on Thursday would make it a crime to insult or taunt a police officer to the point where the taunts provoke a violent response.

Senate Bill 211 passed by a 7-3 vote, according to reports. The proposal was a response to riots throughout the country last summer, said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Benton, a retired police officer.

Louisville saw numerous violent protests and rioting last year following the Breonna Taylor incident in March. Police had obtained a narcotics related search warrant for her apartment. After knock and notice was provided, police made entry only to be met with gunfire from Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was shot in the leg. Officers returned fire, killing Taylor.

This week prosecutors decided to forego charges against Walker, Law Officer reported. Mattingly filed a lawsuit against Walker last October. He alleges that the shot was “outrageous, intolerable and offends all accepted standards of decency or morality.”

The lawsuit accuses Walker of battery, assault and emotional distress.

Meanwhile, Carroll noted the newly proposed legislation wasn’t about limiting lawful protest “in any way, shape, form or fashion,” according to WDRB.

“This country was built on lawful protest, and it’s something that we must maintain — our citizens’ right to do so. What this deals with are those who cross the line and commit criminal acts,” he said.

The bill kept language making a person guilty of disorderly conduct — a Class B misdemeanor — if they accost, insult, taunt, or challenge “a law enforcement officer with offensive or derisive words, or by gestures or other physical contact, that would have a direct tendency to provoke a violent response from the perspective of a reasonable and prudent person.”

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