The New York Times quietly updated an article regarding how Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died after the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
The article, first published on Jan. 8, originally claimed that Sicknick “was struck with a fire extinguisher” amid the chaos of the riot. The NYT cited “two law enforcement officials,” though the Capitol Police did not note this in their official statement and only said that “he was injured while physically engaging with protesters.”
Sicknick died on Jan. 8 after reportedly returning to his division office and collapsing.
The fire extinguisher theory went on to be reported by many other publications. More recently, CNN noted that “investigators have determined that initial reports suggesting Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher aren’t true.” (RELATED: Capitol Hill Officer Slain In January 6th Riots Will Lie In Honor In Capitol Rotunda)
The NYT ultimately updated its piece on Friday, according to the newspaper, which notes this information. This update came after House impeachment managers used the NYT report in a pre-trial memo and claimed the theory “as fact,” the Washington Examiner’s Daniel Chaitin reported.
This after National Review’s @AndrewCMcCarthy raised concerns about how the House impeachment managers cited the New York Times’s reporting in their pretrial memo, stating the fire extinguisher theory as fact
— Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) February 15, 2021
The NYT now has an update at the top of its article regarding how Sicknick’s death. The update notes that “new information has emerged” regarding his death, though it does not explicitly correct the article’s original claim and no editors note is included in the piece.
“UPDATE: New information has emerged regarding the death of the Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick that questions the initial cause of his death provided by officials close to the Capitol Police,” the NYT article now reads.
The article also now includes more information regarding the fire extinguisher claim.
“Law enforcement officials initially said Mr. Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher, but weeks later, police sources and investigators were at odds over whether he was hit. Medical experts have said he did not die of blunt force trauma, according to one law enforcement official,” the NYT noted in its most recent version of the piece.
The NYT did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller.
