Ashli Babbitt's family seeks identity of officer who shot her in lawsuit

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The family of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, is reportedly suing for the records and the identity of the Capitol Police officer who fatally shot her. 

In April, the Justice Department announced it would not seek charges against the officer who shot Babbitt as she tried to climb headfirst through a broken window of a door that led to the Speaker’s Lobby outside of the House chamber. 

The DOJ said the Metropolitan Police Department had “conducted a thorough investigation” of the incident. 

The family is also suing for further video of the shooting, statements made by witnesses and other information gathered during the MPD’s investigation, according to CNBC.

The lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. last week says the MPD has so far failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request deadline filed by her husband Aaron Babbitt days after the DOJ said the officer would not be charged. The lawsuit says the MPD neither handed over the information nor explained why it could not. The officer has not been identified by authorities. 

Separately, Babbitt’s family plans to sue to Capitol Police for $10 million over her death accusing the officer of excessive force “and possibly failure to train, discipline and supervise the officer who killed Babbitt,” according to CNBC.

An attorney for the family of Ashli Babbitt said they will sue the Capitol police and the officer who shot her during the Jan. 6 riot inside the Capitol.

The DOJ in its April release said “officials determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.”

“The investigation revealed no evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully committed a violation” of Babbitt’s rights against excessive force. 

Babbitt, 35, a military veteran and California resident, traveled to Washington D.C., to participate in a pro-Trump rally in an effort to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s Electoral College victory. 

Efforts by Democrats to open a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission that would investigate the riot in the same way 9/11 by investigated by Congress have so far been squashed by Republicans who claimed the Democrats would use it for political gain. 

Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick also died after the riot that injured more than a dozen officers. Hundreds of participants have been arrested in the months since the invasion. 

The MPD did not immediately respond to Fox News’ after-hours request for commment. 

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