Capitol Cop Who Shot Ashli Babbitt 'Ambushed' Her on Jan. 6 Without Warning

Officer identified as Lt. Michael Byrd, top, in House chamber before the Ashli Babbitt slaying in the hall.

Questions linger over the shooting, especially whether the officer who fired the fatal shot warned Babbitt to stop before he opened fire as she attempted to breach a barricaded door inside the Capitol Building.

Far from warning Babbitt he would shoot, Roberts said the officer "Ambushed" her from the side where she could not see he had taken up position in a hall doorway and had trained his weapon on her.

"I'm not sure how he was justified shooting her when there was a SWAT team right behind her," added a veteran Capitol officer, referring to three heavily armed USCP officers who had positioned themselves between the doors and the mob.

Although the FLETC training emphasizes use-of-force decisions through simulated-shooting exercises, Capitol Police officers are not trained for riot-control situations on the scale of Jan. 6.

The veteran Capitol Police officer who spoke to RCI on the condition of anonymity said his colleague was not following department firearms training, which requires officers to keep their weapons pointed in a safe direction while making sure of what's in front of and beyond a target, and to keep the finger off the trigger until ready to fire.

While Roberts argued Babbitt did not pose a threat, the officer's lawyer insisted that his client was acting to protect himself and lawmakers from "Bodily harm."
 

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/08/05/lawyer_capitol_cop_who_shot_ashli_babbitt_ambushed_her_on_jan_6_without_warning_788569.html