Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Ashli Babbit was not afforded any warning at all.
So was George Floyd. Ashli Babbit's murderer deserves the same treatment Derek Chauvin received, hypocrite.I demur.
She was warned.
By the police.
By her criminal comrades right beside her.
She chose to ignore both.
Then suddently advanced towards a police officer who was aiming a gun at her ---- which she was aware of.
Ashli is dead because of...........Ashli.
Jonathan Turley:
“Under Byrd’s interpretation, hundreds of rioters could have been gunned down on Jan. 6.”29 Aug 2021 ~~ By Stacey Matthews
Jonathan Turley: Statements By Capitol Police Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt ‘Demolish the Two Official Reviews That Cleared Him’
"Under Byrd's interpretation, hundreds of rioters could have been gunned down on Jan. 6."legalinsurrection.com
Numerous aspects of what unfolded during the Capitol riot have been hotly debated in the months since it happened, but few have been as contentious and emotional as the debate over the officer-involved shooting death of Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt.
The 35-year-old Air Force veteran was shot and killed by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6th after she tried to climb through a glass-paneled door after parts of it had been shattered by another rioter, identified as Zachary Jordan Alam.
Babbitt, who reportedly had been standing next to Alam, was shot.
n April, the Biden Department of Justice announced they had closed the investigation into the fatal shooting and would not be pursuing criminal charges against Byrd, citing “insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.”
Just last week, the Capitol Police confirmed a report from NBC News that they had exonerated Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the force. They stated in a press release that Byrd – who they did not name – “will not be facing internal discipline” because in their view Byrd’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.”
On the heels of the USCP exonerating Byrd, he did an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt, identifying himself publicly for the first time.
Instead of clearing things up, the interview only intensified the debate over his actions and whether they were justified. Here’s a key moment from their back and forth:
Video shot by a person in the crowd showed two officers posted in front of the door. Heavily outnumbered, they eventually stepped aside.Byrd said he had no knowledge that any officers were there. Because of the furniture stacked on his side of the door, he also couldn’t make out how many people were on the other side or whether they were carrying weapons.“It was impossible for me to see what was on the other side,” he said.But he did see the person now known to be Babbitt start coming through the broken glass.“I could not fully see her hands or what was in the backpack or what the intentions are,” Byrd said. “But they had shown violence leading up to that point.”Byrd, who says he has been in hiding since that day and has faced death threats, told Holt it was the first time he’d ever fired his weapon.
Watch an edited version of the interview below:
The extended interview can be viewed here.
Georgetown University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley, who has long been a critic of official media narratives surrounding the shooting, said that instead of confirming that the respective decisions by the DOJ and the Capitol Police not to pursue action against Byrd were the right ones to make that Byrd “proceeded to demolish the two official reviews that cleared him” after he admitted he could not determine whether Babbitt was armed:
He expanded on his opinion in a piece published at The Hill:
While the Supreme Court, in cases such as Graham v. Connor, has said that courts must consider “the facts and circumstances of each particular case,” it has emphasized that lethal force must be used only against someone who is “an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and … is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” Particularly with armed assailants, the standard governing “imminent harm” recognizes that these decisions must often be made in the most chaotic and brief encounters. Under these standards, police officers should not shoot unarmed suspects or rioters without a clear threat to themselves or fellow officers.[…]Legal experts and the media have avoided the obvious implications of the two reviews in the Babbitt shooting. Under this standard, hundreds of rioters could have been gunned down on Jan. 6 — and officers in cities such as Seattle or Portland, Ore., could have killed hundreds of violent protesters who tried to burn courthouses, took over city halls or occupied police stations during last summer’s widespread rioting. In all of those protests, a small number of activists from both political extremes showed up prepared for violence and pushed others to riot. According to the DOJ’s Byrd review, officers in those cities would not have been required to see a weapon in order to use lethal force in defending buildings.I’m not a legal analyst, but I think Turley makes some good points here.
Comment:
Not a single officer at the Capitol that day was threatened with deadly force. If they had been, other rioters would have been shot. “Context” shows that the officer’s lives were not in danger, and no other officer present thought that they were. This includes the officers who had their guns drawn right alongside Byrd; even they did not fire.
Someone crawling through a broken window? Haul them through, put them in zip ties, pass them to another officer to take away, or tell them to sit down and don’t move. Byrd was not a homeowner at night in the dark, defending his home while alone. He was a trained LEO, with armed fellow officers by his side, and still had a barrier between himself and other rioters, who were not known to have been armed (and were, in fact, not armed).
Please note the following:
Byrd violated the Rules of Engagement of both the Military and Law Enforcement. Had a soldier shot a unarmed civilian under the same circumstances he would have been court martialed.
In incidents involving police shootings, LEO's have been prosecuted for shooting supposed unarmed perpetrators, yet in this case there is no indictment or real investigation. The justification of the murder of Ashli Babbitt is purely political and Byrd has virtually gotten away with murder.
Succinctly said. If Byrd were White and Babbitt were Black, there would have been riots, arson and looting. Personally, I would like him to receive justice.
Doesn't someone have to be charged with insurrection for an insurrection to occur? Don't weapons have to be involved. Don't some government reps have to be injured. I don't think any of those things happened. There was an unarmed trespasser that was summarily executed by one of Piglosi's gestapo. I believe he was Michael Byrd. He should be held accountable, just like Derek Chauvin.participate in an Insurrection
NoDoesn't someone have to be charged with insurrection for an insurrection to occur?
No.Don't weapons have to be involved.
No.Don't some government reps have to be injured.
Incorrect thinking.I don't think any of those things happened.
You go right on deluding yourself that this is the case.There was an unarmed trespasser that was summarily executed by one of Piglosi's gestapo. I believe he was Michael Byrd. He should be held accountable, just like Derek Chauvin.
So was George Floyd. Ashli Babbit's murderer deserves the same treatment Derek Chauvin received, hypocrite.
Chauvin kneed Floyd in the neck until he was dead, dick splat.So was George Floyd. Ashli Babbit's murderer deserves the same treatment Derek Chauvin received, hypocrite.
Funny how his Trailer Trash seem to gloss-over that fact...Trump who hasen't lifted a finger to help the mob that he claimed to love.
...man-oh-man, has he got them bamboozled... they're gonna be made when they wake up -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So was George Floyd. Ashli Babbit's murderer deserves the same treatment Derek Chauvin received, hypocrite.
Babbitt committing a crime - as all of the other people who have been convicted of similar crimes can attest.
If not following police orders is not justification for shooting unarmed defendants, why is the defense for police shooting unarmed black people always that if they had followed police orders, they would not have been shot. If Ashli Babbitt had followed police orders, she would not have been shot.
This was an illegal insurrection and Babbitt was no patriot.
You seem to have no problem with police attacking BLM protestors violently. Why do you expect right wing protestors to be treated differently?
Bullshit. You are at best uninformed and at worst a FUCKING LIAR. I'll opt for the latter.No
No.
No.
Incorrect thinking.
You go right on deluding yourself that this is the case.
So a flagpole used to bashed someone in the head is not a weapon, moron?Doesn't someone have to be charged with insurrection for an insurrection to occur? Don't weapons have to be involved. Don't some government reps have to be injured. I don't think any of those things happened. There was an unarmed trespasser that was summarily executed by one of Piglosi's gestapo. I believe he was Michael Byrd. He should be held accountable, just like Derek Chauvin.
Babbit is dead because she was summarily executed by a racist democrat gestapo. Floyd is dead because he ODd on fentanyl and failed to follow lawful orders of multiple law enforcement officers you racist fucking pig.Chauvin p
Chauvin kneed Floyd in the neck until he was dead, dick splat.
Babbitt is dead because she rioted. That should be a warning to anyone who listens to Trump who hasen't lifted a finger to help the mob that he claimed to love. Yea, sure he does.
Don't pretend to tell me what I think about the death of St. George Floyd.
It's stupid and biased.
George Floyd died of a drug overdose. Not due to a Minneapolis PD approved method for controlling
suspects under arrest.
A man with a non compromised heart due to epic abuse of drugs would not have died due to someone's knee
on the back of his neck.
Oh, my, my, my... somebody disagrees with your take on this and so they're a Liar? You tell 'em, Sparky...Bullshit. You are at best uninformed and at worst a FUCKING LIAR. I'll opt for the latter.
Your argument is irrelevant. Legal minds in the AGs office have not charged ANYONE with insurrection, so run your little ignorant ass down the road, moron.So a flagpole used to bashed someone in the head is not a weapon, moron?
There was no insurrection, jerkoff!Phukk it... who cares...
She and the scum she was with chose to participate in an Insurrection against the lawful authority of the United States and to assault Congress...
Yes. Thanks for shooting unarmed people without warning. Maybe you want to run tanks over themPhukk 'em... and her... there should have been several other toe-tags meted out that day as well... anyway... well-done, Officer... and thank you...
So a flagpole used to bashed someone in the head is not a weapon, moron?
You are about the furthest thing from a " centrist" imaginable.Phukk it... who cares...
She and the scum she was with chose to participate in an Insurrection against the lawful authority of the United States and to assault Congress...
Phukk 'em... and her... there should have been several other toe-tags meted out that day as well... anyway... well-done, Officer... and thank you...
Babbitt was warned to back off when she & your buddies were bashing that door down threatening the life of that cop, you Trump asseating lowlife.Babbit is dead because she was summarily executed by a racist democrat gestapo. Floyd is dead because he ODd on fentanyl and failed to follow lawful orders of multiple law enforcement officers you racist fucking pig.
I'll bet you wouldn't think that if you were on the receiving end of one slammed upside your head.A flagpole is NOT considered a "deadly weapon".
That would be something like a knife or gun.
And the police had helmets.
They were never at risk.
