• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Wisconsin pharmacist accused of spoiling coronavirus vaccines thought they would alter DNA, investigator says

Steven Brandenburg

Charges are still pending against Steven Brandenburg, shown above. (Ozaukee County Sheriff)

January 5, 2021
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

GRAFTON, Wis. — A Wisconsin hospital pharmacist who is an admitted conspiracy theorist told police he intentionally tried to spoil hundreds of doses of the coronavirus vaccine because he believed the shots would hurt people by mutating their DNA, court documents say.

Police in Grafton, about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, arrested Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist Steven Brandenburg last week after 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine were removed from refrigeration, which officials say contained enough doses to inoculate more than 500 people. Charges are still pending as prosecutors are awaiting additional information from investigators, the Grafton Police Department said in a press release issued Tuesday.

“He’d formed this belief they were unsafe,” Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol said Monday during a virtual hearing.

  • BLM CO-FOUNDER CLAIMS RACISM ‘IS EVERYWHERE, IT’S ALMOST LIKE THE AIR WE BREATHE’

A detective wrote in a probable cause statement that Brandenburg, 46, is an admitted conspiracy theorist and that he told investigators he intentionally tried to ruin the vaccine because it could hurt people by changing their DNA, Fox News reported.

Moreover, Gerol added that Brandenburg was upset because he and his wife are divorcing, and an Aurora employee said Brandenburg had taken a gun to work twice.

Advocate Aurora Health Care Chief Medical Group Officer Jeff Bahr has said Brandenburg admitted that he deliberately removed the vials from refrigeration at the Grafton medical center overnight on Dec. 24 into Dec. 25, returned them, then left them out again on the night of Dec. 25 into Saturday.

A pharmacy technician discovered the vials outside the refrigerator on Dec. 26. Bahr said Brandenburg initially said he had removed the vials to access other items in the refrigerator and had inadvertently failed to put them back. The Moderna vaccine is viable for 12 hours outside refrigeration, so workers used the vaccine to inoculate 57 people before discarding the rest, according to the Associated Press.

  • NEBRASKA OFFICERS DEPLOY K9 ON SUSPECT HOLDING VICTIM HOSTAGE IN APARTMENT

Police had said the discarded doses were worth between $8,000 and $11,000, while Bahr added that the doses people received Dec. 26 are all but useless, Fox reported.

But Gerol said during the hearing Monday that the vials were actually retained and Moderna would need to test the doses to make sure they’re ineffective before he can file charges.

Brandenburg’s attorney, Jason Baltz, did not speak on the merits of the case during the hearing. Gerol held off on filing any charges, saying he still needs to determine whether Brandenburg actually destroyed the doses.

Judge Paul Malloy ordered Brandenburg to be released on a $10,000 signature bond, surrender his firearms, not work in health care and have no contact with Aurora employees.

 

 


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Adam Gerolcoronaviruscovid-19Grafton Police DepartmentJeff BahrModerna vaccineSteven Brandenburg
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

Shannon Safford

Mother of vax-injured military daughter: ‘What happened to our free choice?’

January 24, 2023
Chicago teen

Media continues to blame pandemic for crime

October 28, 2022

Andrew Cuomo sued for ‘COVID Order’ that killed thousands in nursing homes

April 29, 2022
@Facebook

Olympic Medalist accused of stealing millions in COVID-19 Relief Funds

January 21, 2022

After jail fires the unvaccinated, they now pay $103 per hour to fill shifts

January 21, 2022
US Supreme Court

Supreme Court blocks Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses

January 13, 2022
Load More

Latest Articles

Madison Russo

TikToker charged with conning people out of $37K with GoFundMe cancer scam

January 31, 2023
Israel Martinez Lopez

Illegal immigrant charged in third fatal Wisconsin crash in past two months

January 31, 2023
Roscoe Roy Jr.

Pennsylvania man repeatedly raped child, taped her to punching bag and beat her, police say

January 31, 2023
K9 Roni

Stunning video shows handler retrieving police K9 from patrol unit as tornado bears down on city

January 31, 2023
Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin formally charged with manslaughter

January 31, 2023
Adriana Davidson

Missing 15-year-old girl found dead near Michigan high school

January 31, 2023
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com