- Messages
- 1,961
- Location
- Undisclosed
Investigators are recommending no charges against a Capitol Police officer who fatally shot a pro-Trump rioter, reports say
Ashley Collman
Updated Tue, February 2, 2021, 7:09 AM
Members of the National Guard at the door where Ashli Babbitt was killed during the Capitol riot.
- A Capitol Police officer was put on leave for fatally shooting the pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt.
- Investigators are not recommending the officer be charged, and report.
- The final decision, however, has yet to be made by the Justice Department.
- .
The investigation was carried out by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, The Journal reported.
Babbitt in her driver's-license photo.
A final decision has not been made on the matter yet, however, and that decision lies with the Justice Department.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on Tuesday morning.
Babbitt, a 35-year-old veteran of the Air Force and Air National Guard, was shot dead as she tried to through a shattered window into the Speaker's Lobby of the Capitol during last month's .
She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Four others died in the riot, including a 42-year-old who was hit in the head with a by a rioter. So far, no one has been in connection to Sicknick's death.
As The Journal noted, there would be a high bar when it comes to any charges for the officer who killed Babbitt. For a conviction, prosecutors would need to prove the officer used excessive force and willfully violated someone's constitutional rights.
Sources told The Journal the officer might have been acting as a last line of defense between the rioters and members of Congress, which could be a justification for using deadly force.
A makeshift memorial for Babbitt in Washington, DC, on January 7. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
The officer in question was placed on leave while an investigation into Babbitt's death took place, and he is expected to return to his previous status, a fellow Capitol Police officer told The Journal.
The officer, however, is said to be afraid of being retaliated against by Trump supporters, according to The Journal.
The incident remains under investigation by the Washington Metropolitan Police, the US Attorney's Office in Washington, DC, and civil-rights prosecutors, as is custom for shootings involving the Capitol Police, according to CNN.