220 / 12 / 18 - East Gate Councillor Removed from Office

On 17th Ling the Councillor for East Gate, Nikolai Hunter, was holding a meeting with residents of his district to hear their concerns. Such meetings have long been a part of the routine for councillors, and at the start it seemed that there wouldn't be anything to set this one apart from many others. According to witnesses Councillor Hunter was part way through answering a question about the new high council when he began stumbling over his words and glancing around nervously.  As the session went on he would flinch each time he was addressed, until a forcefully addressed question caused him to let out a scream and bolt for the door.
Councillor Hunter was then seen running through the streets of East Gate towards his home.  When a pair of patrollers, who were naturally concerned when they saw a member of the council racing through the streets, tried to stop him to ask what was wrong, Councillor Hunter knocked them out of the way before continuing on home.  The two patrollers described the councillor's expression as being one of pure terror.
When the patrollers reported the encounter, Captain Vyken Guardian sent a squad to check on the Councillor's house.  The squad, under the command of Sergeant Beatrix Guardian, found the Councillor locked in his house.  Concerned for his wellfare, Sergeant BEatrix sent a request to the Mallory Centre for Healing, and when a healer arrived the sergeant had the patrollers break open the door.  The first patroller through the door was hit by a crossbow bolt fired by the Councillor from behind an overturned table.  The rest of the squad rushed in and disarmed and restrained Councillor Hunter before he could reload.  Fortunately the crossbow bolt did not strike anywhere vital, and the healer from the Mallory Centre was able to quicklly dress the wound.  When this was done, the helaer turned their attention to Councillor Hunter who was acting as if terrified of everyone around him.
As the Councillor did not seem to be in a state to be reasoned with, the healer provided the patrollers with a calming potion which put the Councillor to sleep.  As he had proven to be a danger to others, Councillor Hunter was then taken to the Patrol Headquarters for further observation.  When he awoke, the Councillor appeared somewhat confused but was much calmer.  He could provide no explanation for his behaviour, and as the healer found no sign of injury to indicate an external cause, it was concluded that the Councillor had suffered some form of temporary insanity possibly due to the pressure of being a Councillor.  As the Councillor was clearly not in his right mind the patrol will not press charges for the injury of one of the patrollers.  However, this incident has made it impossible for Councillor Hunter to continue in his role and in an emergency meeting of the Council, the rest of the councillors voted to remove him from office.  We expect that nominations for a new councillor will be called in next several weeks.