SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A Capitol police officer lawfully shot and killed a California woman who was one of hundreds that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an investigation concluded.
The internal investigation conducted by the United States Capitol Police cited a 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 unidentified officer will not face internal discipline.
Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, had traveled from her home in San Diego to participate in the riot, during which four other people also died.
"I sent her a text, can I get a status check? And I never heard back from her," her husband had told KRON4's sister station in San Diego.
Babbitt had attempted to climb through a broken window of a door while already inside the U.S. Capitol when an officer shot her, according to footage reviewed by KRON4.
On the day of the Capitol breach, sixty-eight people were arrested and 56 police officers were injured — two of whom required hospitalization. Police had also recovered two pipe bombs and six guns. In the months that followed, many more rioters have been charged for the violence committed that day.
"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," a press release from Capitol police said. "USCP Officers had barricaded the Speaker’s Lobby with furniture before a rioter shattered the glass door. If the doors were breached, the rioters would have immediate access to the House Chambers. The officer’s actions were consistent with the officer’s training and USCP policies and procedures."
Back in April, the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to pursue criminal charges against the officer who shot Babbitt due to insufficient evidence.
Their investigation said the officer who fatally shot Babbitt had fired one round from his service pistol and struck her in the left shoulder, which caused her to fall back from the doorway.
A USCP emergency response team gave her medical treatment on site before she was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/3sKfL0X
No comments:
Post a Comment