Judicial Watch filed a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against the US government on behalf of Ashli Babbitt’s husband and her estate. Ashli Babbitt is the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Commander Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021.
The lawsuit explains that Mrs. Babbitt went lawfully and without any nefarious purpose. Mrs. Babbitt marched peacefully to the Capitol with undercover officers walking close behind, even as she climbed the stairs to the West Terrace. She entered the Capitol, and once inside, a female police officer directed her to walk south, which she did. She ended up at the Speaker’s lobby.
Two individuals had dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors, along with the right door side panel. She raised herself up into the opening of the right door, in full sight of Lt. Byrd, who then shot and killed her.
She was unarmed, and her hands were up in the air and empty. All of that was in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby.
MURDERED
Multiple witnesses yelled, “You just murdered her.”
At the time of the shooting, no members of Congress were in the lobby. There were other armed police officers in the hallway. One officer said there was no way that Ashli Babbitt could’ve seen Lieutenant Byrd, who was not in uniform and did not identify himself as a police officer. There were no warnings or commands before Lieutenant Byrd shot Ashli dead.
Ashli Babbitt was shot in the left anterior shoulder and was in extreme pain and suffered mentally for minutes or longer.
Evidence shows Lieutenant Byrd was prone to behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner. The lawsuit then gives examples, including two episodes where his police powers were revoked.
THE POLICE REPORT
Judicial Watch obtained an obtained DC Metropolitan Police Report on the Ashli Babbitt shooting. It shows there was no justification for the killing of Ashli Babbitt during the January 6th riot at the Capitol.
The truly awful part is that no one seemed to care about her. She was the only person murdered that day, yet some partisans claimed police and other participants were murdered. Actually, Ashli was the only one who was murdered, and it was treated as if it were justified.
The standard requirement for the use of deadly force was in effect, which requires an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. None of the statements by officers at the scene show that the standard was met.
THIS WAS NOT A JUSTIFIED SHOOTING
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