{"id":688113,"date":"2021-08-26T20:06:10","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T00:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=688113"},"modified":"2021-08-26T20:06:13","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T00:06:13","slug":"officer-who-shot-ashli-babbitt-comes-forward-i-saved-countless-lives-followed-my-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/officer-who-shot-ashli-babbitt-comes-forward-i-saved-countless-lives-followed-my-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Officer Who Shot Ashli Babbitt Comes Forward: \u2018I Saved Countless Lives,\u2019 \u2018Followed My Training\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fofficer-who-shot-ashli-babbitt-comes-forward-i-saved-countless-lives-followed-my-training%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=688113&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Speakers-Lobby-1-1.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police Department, has publicly come forward as the man who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt, the election certification protester who was killed after trying to enter the Speaker\u2019s Lobby during the January 6 riot.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>During an interview, which aired late Thursday, Byrd told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/officer-who-shot-ashli-babbitt-during-capitol-riot-breaks-silence-n1277736\">NBC News<\/a> that it was his job to protect the lawmakers and staff in the area \u2014 of whom there were about 60 to 80 people \u2014 and that he believes that he made the right decision.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI followed my training, and I spent countless years preparing for such a moment. You ultimately hope that moment never occurs, but you prepare as best you can. I know that day I saved countless lives,\u201d said Byrd. \u201cI know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger, and that\u2019s my job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"7.9228486646884\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">NOW: Join us on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCNightlyNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NBCNightlyNews<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LesterHoltNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LesterHoltNBC<\/a>\u2018s exclusive interview with Lieutenant Michael Byrd \u2014 the U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt while defending the U.S. House chamber during the Capitol attack. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mgub2ZcYdQ\">pic.twitter.com\/mgub2ZcYdQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCNightlyNews\/status\/1431024048008482819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 26, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>During the riot, said Byrd, his police radio provided updates about the developing situation. One update said officers were down, and another said that there were shots fired \u2014 although he later said he learned that the shots fired update wasn\u2019t true. These updates, he said, were his only glimpse into what was happening elsewhere. <\/span><span>\u201cIt was literally broadcast over the air,\u201d Byrd recalled.\u201cI said, \u2018OK, this is getting serious.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The doorway was barricaded with furniture, and Byrd, tasked with protecting lawmakers, says he was \u201cessentially trapped\u201d in place along with everyone else, without any way to retreat, reported NBC News.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The crowd later approached the barricade. Byrd told NBC News that he couldn\u2019t get an accurate count of how many people were on the other side there because of it, and had repeatedly told the crowd to get back.&nbsp;<\/span><span>When Byrd saw another person \u2014 later identified as 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt \u2014 starting to come through the glass, he fired his gun. He said he was unaware that she was unarmed, and also didn\u2019t know there were, at one point, officers on the other side of the barricade.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI tried to wait as long as I could,\u201d said Byrd. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the Department of Justice closed the investigation into Byrd, and more recently, the U.S. Capitol Police determined that his actions were within department policy and that he would not face discipline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUSCP\u2019s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) determined the officer\u2019s 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\u2019s own life, or in the defense of any person in immediate danger of serious physical injury,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscp.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/uscp-completes-internal-investigation-january-6-officer-involved\">said<\/a> the department.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Justice said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/pr\/department-justice-closes-investigation-death-ashli-babbitt\">statement<\/a>, back in April, that it had found \u201cno evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Byrd denied that there were any other motivations behind the shooting and told NBC News that he has also protected former President Donald Trump in the past. \u201cIf he was in the Capitol and I was responsible for him, I\u2019d do the same thing for him and his family,\u201d said Byrd.<\/p>\n<p>He told NBC News that he has decided to speak out in the hopes that people will understand that he did his job. \u201cThere was imminent threat and danger to the members of Congress. I just want the truth to be told,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police Department, has publicly come forward as the man who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt, the election certification protester who &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-688113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}