diff --git a/synapse/storage/events.py b/synapse/storage/events.py
index 9f8f0a0823..a27b7919cd 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/events.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/events.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer, reactor
 from synapse.events import FrozenEvent, USE_FROZEN_DICTS
 from synapse.events.utils import prune_event
 
-from synapse.util.async import ObservableDeferred, run_on_reactor
+from synapse.util.async import ObservableDeferred
 from synapse.util.logcontext import preserve_fn, PreserveLoggingContext
 from synapse.util.logutils import log_function
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes