Posted on 08/26/2021 4:45:04 PM PDT by RandFan
The officer who shot and killed a woman during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has come forward after months of secrecy surrounding his identity due to reported death threats and heated Republican rhetoric about his actions.
Lt. Michael Leroy Byrd, a 28-year-veteran of the force, told NBC News on Thursday that it has been “frightening” to receive death threats for doing his job.
“They talked about, you know, killing me, cutting off my head, you know, very vicious and cruel things. … There were some racist attacks as well,” he said, calling them “disheartening because I know I was doing my job.”
In the moments leading up to the shooting of Ashli Babbitt, Byrd said: “I was very afraid. I’m hearing about the breaches of different barricaded areas, officers being overrun, officers being down.”
“Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were. There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out,” he added.
Byrd said he did not regret his actions, though he called firing his weapon a “last resort.”
“I followed my training, and I spent countless years preparing for such a moment,” he said, noting that to him in that moment Babbitt “was posing a threat” to lawmakers in the House Chamber.
At that time, he said, he did not know that she was unarmed, but there had been reports of shots fired in the Capitol.
“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. That’s my job.”
“I believe I showed the utmost courage on Jan. 6, and it’s time for me to do that now” in coming forward, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
He saved lives by shooting an unarmed woman? If she were a BLM protester, he’d be facing life in prison.
BS. He shot a helpless victim.
He saved “countless lives” by killing an unarmed woman?
Say what?
None of the protesters had weapons that I am aware of.
The man is another government sanctioned assassin like Lon Hariuchi.
Big, bad Leroy Bird,
meaner than a junkyard dog.
From his POV, he had been outed. Why not claim official immunity?
Foolish man behaving foolishly.
“Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were. There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out,” he added.
Right. You weren’t evacuating the House using tunnels. Drama queen.
By killing an unarmed girl? How? Was she going to scratch people with her manicured nails???
He’s a lying sack of sh*t.
I mean, I've seen footballs spiked harder...
How many lives were threatened by Ashli Babbitt?
“I know that day I saved countless lives”
He makes the mistake of assuming our side of the politucal divide is the same as his side of the political divide when it comes to killing innocents.
Didnt this guy leave his gun unattended in 2019? He goes and shoots an UNARMED woman and then claims he saved lives..tell me douche bag, how was Ashli Babbitt a threat, she had NO WEAPON
There was a long hallway right behind you and there were several armed officers on the same side of the barricade as Ashli Babbitt. Who were in your line of fire BTW.
What weapons did the "rioters" have?
What kind of POS prideful scumbag talks about his action like that?
What a hero. Out of all the thousands of protestors he managed to find the only one that was actually dangerous.
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