A congressional investigation found that the Capitol Police officer who carried out the only killing on January 6th, 2021 had a long history of disciplinary actions against him due to negligence and other shortcomings.
According to Just The News, the probe into Captain Michael Leroy Byrd’s record by the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee revealed that, among other things, the disgraced officer failed a shotgun qualification test, failed an FBI background check during an attempted weapon purchase, faced a 33-day suspension for losing his weapon on the job, and had been referred to state prosecutors in Maryland for firing his weapon at a stolen car that was fleeing his neighborhood.
The findings were summarized in a letter sent to Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger by the committee’s chairman, Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). Congressman Loudermilk expressed his opposition to the decision to promote Byrd, who was a lieutenant at the time of the peaceful protests on January 6th, to the rank of captain following his actions.
“This Subcommittee is dedicated to ensuring USCP has autonomy from political pressures so it can make operational and personnel decisions,” said Loudermilk in the letter. “However, based on the information obtained by the Subcommittee regarding USCP’s handling of Captain Byrd following January 6, 2021, and his significant disciplinary history, I have concerns about USCP’s decision to promote him to the rank of Captain.”
Perhaps the most infamous pre-J6 incident in Byrd’s career since he came to public light was when he left his service weapon, loaded and unattended, in a public bathroom on Capitol Hill in 2019. For this, he was given a 33-day suspension. Shortly after the events of January 6th, Byrd failed a background check while attempting to purchase a shotgun; when he tried to receive a department-issued shotgun instead, he failed the training.
In 2004, Byrd fired his weapon repeatedly at a stolen vehicle as it was being driven out of the neighborhood in which he lived. And in 2015, a complaint was filed against Byrd for “conduct unbecoming an officer” after an off-duty Byrd confronted a fellow officer while the officer in question was working at a high school football game; the officer who filed the complaint said that the language used by Byrd, who is black, had racial overtones against the officer he harassed.
On January 6th, Byrd shot and killed Ashi Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, despite Babbitt being unarmed. Video taken of the shooting shows Byrd aiming his firearm at multiple protesters, who were on the other side of a barricade, before choosing to fire at Babbitt; he did so without issuing any kind of warning, verbal or otherwise, and despite being completely unprovoked. While the mainstream media and Democrats have described Byrd as a hero, Republicans have denounced his hasty decision to use lethal force when none of the other officers resorted to such actions that day, and have demanded a proper investigation into his conduct.
