Cop Who Killed Ashli Babbitt Was Cleared of Criminal Wrongdoing Without Interview

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When U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd went on โ€œNBC Nightly Newsโ€ to tell his side of shooting and killing unarmed Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt, he made a point to note heโ€™d been investigated by several agencies and exonerated for his actions that day.

โ€œThereโ€™s an investigative process [and] I was cleared by the DOJ [Department of Justice], and FBI and [the D.C.] Metropolitan Police,โ€ he told NBC News anchor Lester Holt in August, adding that the Capitol Police also cleared him of wrongdoing and decided not to discipline or demote him for the shooting.

Byrd then answered a series of questions by Holt about the shooting, but what he told the friendly journalist, he likely never told investigators. Thatโ€™s because he refused to answer their questions, according to several sources and documents reviewed by RealClearInvestigations.

In fact, investigators cleared Byrd of wrongdoing in the shooting without actually interviewing him about the shooting or threatening him with punishment if he did not cooperate with their criminal investigation.

โ€œHe didnโ€™t provide any statement to [criminal] investigators and they didnโ€™t push him to make a statement,โ€ Babbitt family attorney Terry Roberts said in an RCI interview. โ€œItโ€™s astonishing how skimpy his investigative file is.”

Roberts, who has spoken with the D.C. Metro Police Department detective assigned to the case, said the kid-glove treatment of Byrd raises suspicions the investigation was a โ€œwhitewash.โ€

The lawyer’s account appears to be backed up by a January 2021 internal affairs report, which notes Byrd “declined to provide a statement,โ€ D.C. MPD documents show.

Asked about it, a D.C. MPD spokeswoman confirmed that Byrd did not cooperate with internal affairs agents or FBI agents, who jointly investigated what was one of the most high-profile officer-involved shooting cases in U.S. history.

โ€œMPD did not formally interview Lt. Byrd,โ€ deputy D.C. MPD communications director Kristen Metzger said. And, โ€œHe didnโ€™t give a statement while under the U.S. Attorneyโ€™s Office investigation.โ€

Byย Paul Sperry

Read Full Article on RealClearInvestigation.com

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