U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, who shot Ashli Babbitt, issued a false radio report alleging shots were fired at him and that he was “prepared to fire back.”
This previously unknown radio message is recorded on an audio tape acquired exclusively by The Epoch Times.
Aaron Babbitt, Ashli’s widower, filed a federal lawsuit seeking information about the tape and is suing the federal government for wrongful death damages. (Trending: Trump Responds To Biden’s Bombing In Yemen)
The lawsuit challenges the official account of the shooting and raises concerns about the inquiry that cleared Byrd.
According to the lawsuit, “In fact, no shots were fired at Lt. Byrd or his fellow officers.”
“The only shot fired was the single shot Lt. Byrd fired at Ashli. He heard the loud noise of the gunshot. He saw her fall backward from the window frame.”
Before the incident, a police dispatcher incorrectly said, “They’re taking shots into the House floor.”
“Lt. Byrd erroneously believed and acted on a false radio call and/or false report of shots fired on the House floor occurring before he left the House floor and moved across the Speaker’s Lobby to the adjacent Retiring Room,” alleges the lawsuit.
“A reasonably prudent officer in Lt. Byrd’s position would have been aware that, in fact, the report was false and the sound heard on the House floor was glass breaking, not shots fired,” the lawsuit continues.
“The facts speak truth. Ashli was ambushed when she was shot by Lt. Byrd,” writes Mr. Babbitt’s attorneys.
“Lt. Byrd was never charged or otherwise punished or disciplined for Ashli’s homicide,” the lawsuit claims.
Lt. Byrd: “405-B. We got shots fired in the lobby. We got fot (sic), shots fired in the lobby of the House chamber. Shots are being fired at us, and we’re prepared to fire back at them. We have guns drawn. [Unintelligible.] Don’t leave that end! Don’t leave that end!”
Dispatcher: “Simulcasting, shots fired on the House floor again.”
Lt. Byrd: “We’ve got an injured person. I believe that person was shot. It was …”
Unknown officer: “Shot, one down, civilian. We need EMTs. We need. … Come through on the west side of the building … to the House lobby.”
Dispatch: “That’d be House…”
Lt. Byrd: “405-B, did you copy?”
Dispatch: “I copied. House lobby, west side. Individual …”
Officer Mike Brown, a member of the USCP Containment and Emergency Response Team, described Lt. Byrd as “down and out and almost in tears.”
The Department of Justice labeled Babbitt “an active participant in a ‘mob’ that had just illegally entered the Capitol building.”
Byrd later said, “I know that day I saved countless lives.”
“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,” he continued.
Byrd said he shot Babbitt because “she was posing a threat to the United States House of Representatives.”
Sgt. Timothy Lively reportedly told investigators, “I saw him . . . there was no way that woman would’ve seen that.”
The lawsuit also highlights Byrd’s previous incidents of recklessness, including leaving his loaded firearm unattended and an off-duty shooting into a stolen vehicle.
Despite these concerns, Byrd was promoted to captain, raising questions about his suitability for the role.
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