The family of Ashli Babbitt is suing the Metropolitan Police Department to discover the identity of the officer who fatally shot her during the Jan. 6 protest at the United States Capitol.
Aaron Babbitt is the personal representative of the estate of Ashli Babbitt. The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia investigated the shooting. The United States Attorney completed its investigation and did not bring criminal charges. There are no other criminal prosecution or criminal investigations pending.
The lawsuit was filed on April 21. The Metropolitan Police Department was supposed to produce the records requested or prove it is legally exempt from doing so within 15 days. The department had not done so as of June 4.
“The complication here is that the Capitol Police are not subject to FOIA. However, they used the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to conduct their investigation,” said Terrell Roberts, who is representing Babbitt. “In other words, the United States Attorney’s Office did a criminal investigation and relied upon the Metropolitan Police Department to conduct their factual investigation. And so now that they’ve decided against bringing charges I am going to seek any kind of records that they may have collected in their investigation, including any records which identify the officer.”
