The congressional police who shot Ashley Babbitt finally came forward in a new interview with NBC’s Lester Holt.
US Recognized him before As Lieutenant Michael Bird, and the recognition is correct.
Bird has been involved in law enforcement for 28 years and made notorious headlines in 2019 Leave the loaded gun in the bathroom of the Capitol.
In the Holt interview aired on Thursday, Byrd claimed that he “save lives.” He said he believed he showed his “greatest courage” on January 6. He also said that Babbitt’s defenselessness did not change his decision.
In an exclusive interview @LesterHoltNBC, Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Bird described why he chose to identify himself. Bird shared his description of the riots on January 6, when the police blocked the door and he fired a shot that killed Ashley Babbitt. pic.twitter.com/5E7KPtxNc2
-NBC Evening News and Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) August 26, 2021
There are several problems with his position, As I pointed out earlier. First, AshliBabbitt did not carry a weapon when she shot her, nor did he threaten anyone with a weapon. He claimed that he warned people to go back or he would shoot. But you cannot hear the sound on the tape. He may have, but you can only hear the people on the other side of the door. If we cannot hear the sound on the tape, it is likely that Babbitt has not heard it either.
Now, yes, he may have heard of other reports of violence, so this must be included in the rationality of his thinking about the shooting. But Babbitt himself did not pose a threat to his life, nor did he carry weapons. She did not threaten the police on the other side of the door.
In addition, if Bird hadn’t shot her to death, behind her on the stairs was an armed tactical team that could stop anyone. This is the sad part of all this-if he waits another second, the tactical team replacing the Capitol Police in front of the door will be there to stop anyone from moving forward. So shooting is basically meaningless and unnecessary.
As we have also pointed out, this seems to have happened after the legislators left-although we cannot be sure, because again, the Congressional police were not required to provide any evidence or respond to media requests.
A representative of the Babbitt family reacted to Bird’s “decision to reveal his identity.”
Babbitt’s family lawyer Terrell Roberts called his decision to reveal his identity as an unexpected turnaround.
“Considering the constant saying that identifying him would put him at risk for months, this is really a change. Where did that man go?” Roberts told the Daily Mail.
“The U.S. Congress wants to protect this man. He has friends at the top and they want to protect him.”
An internal investigation into Bird’s behavior determined that he should not face charges.
