Photo: nbc nightly news
The police lieutenant who fatally shot a rioter during theJan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitolspoke out for the first time during a televised interview with NBC News, several days after he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Michael Byrd fatally shot Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from California who embraced QAnon conspiracy theories and then-PresidentDonald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“I followed my training. I spent countless years preparing for such a moment. You ultimately hope that moment never occurs, but you prepare the best you can. I know that day I saved countless lives,” said Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the Capitol Police, during Thursday night’s broadcast ofNBC Nightly News with Lester Holt
“I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that’s my job,” Byrd said.
“Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were,” Byrd recalled. “There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out.”
Byrd told NBC News anchor Lester Holt that he decided to fire his gun as a “last resort.”
“I tried to wait as long as I could,” Byrd explained. “I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.”
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During the interview, Byrd also said that it “was impossible for me to see what was on the other side” of the makeshift barricade, but he did see a person coming through the broken glass.
“I could not fully see her hands or what was in the backpack or what the intentions are,” said Byrd. “But they had shown violence leading up to that point.”
Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Samuel Corum/Getty
In an Aug. 23press release, the Capitol police announced that an internal investigation “determined the officer’s conduct was lawful and within Department policy, which says an officer may use deadly force only when the officer reasonably believes that action is in the defense of human life, including the officer’s own life, or in the defense of any person in immediate danger of serious physical injury.”
The release stated: “The actions of the officer in this case potentially saved Members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol and to the House Chamber where Members and staff were steps away.”
Babbitt was one of five people who died during the insurrection or shortly thereafter.
During the interview with Holt, Byrd said that he had received threats and racist attacks when his name was leaked in online forums.
“It’s all disheartening because I know I was doing my job,” he said.
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However, after remaining quiet for seven months due to the investigation into the shooting, Byrd is speaking out in hopes to clear any misconceptions about the incident.
“I hope they understand I did my job,” Byrd said. “There was imminent threat and danger to the members of Congress. I just want the truth to be told.”
After the insurrection, and in his final days in office, the House of Representativesimpeached Trump. TheSenate acquitted himafter Biden took office.
source: people.com
