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-Lurid Crime Tales-

Cop who fatally shot J6 protestor has lengthy disciplinary record including gun incidents

2024-11-21

[JustTheNews] The issues in officer Michael Byrd's background included a failed shotgun qualification test, a failed FBI background check, a suspension for a lost weapon and referral prosecutors for firing his gun at a stolen car.

The Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riots and then was promoted has a lengthy internal affairs and disciplinary record that includes firearm-related incidents, a sweeping congressional investigation has found.

The issues in Captain Michael Byrd's background included a failed shotgun qualification test, a failed FBI background check for a weapon's purchase, a 33-day suspension for a lost weapon and referral to Maryland state prosecutors for firing his gun at a stolen car fleeing his neighborhood, according to congressional and police documents obtained by Just the News.

Byrd’s record was uncovered during a larger House Administration Oversight Subcommittee investigation into the Capitol Police disciplinary process and was chronicled in a letter Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the panel's chairman, sent Wednesday to the department's chief, Thomas Manger, in which the lawmaker expressed concerns about the officer’s promotion to captain.

“This Subcommittee is dedicated to ensuring USCP has autonomy from political pressures so it can make operational and personnel decisions,” Loudermilk wrote 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.”

LIST OF INCIDENTS:
The incidents described in Loudermilk's letter are corroborated by congressional records and police reports that date as early as 2004 including:

A 2004 incident where Byrd, who was off duty, fired his weapon at a stolen vehicle as it was fleeing in his residential neighborhood;

A 2015 "conduct unbecoming an officer" complaint filed by a fellow officer after Byrd, again off duty, confronted him while the officer was working at a high school football game in an incident with racial overtones;

A 33-day suspension in 2019 after Byrd left his service weapon unattended in a public Capitol Hill bathroom;

A failure to pass a routine background check shortly after Jan. 6 when attempting to purchase a shotgun for home protection, after the USCP worked to provide Byrd a department-issued shotgun instead, he failed the training; and

Three further referrals to the Capitol Police Office of Professional Responsibility for which records are reportedly missing.

Mark Schamel, the lawyer representing Byrd did not respond several requests for comment. The U.S. Capitol Police also did not return several inquiries from Just the News.

Posted by:Skidmark

#12 Reminds me of an old bird joke.
The Foo bird.

Posted by: Skidmark 2024-11-21 22:35

#11 the violent January 6th crowd.

*ahem* Almost ALL of the crowd were non-violent, except the undercover agitants, IIUC

Posted by: Frank G 2024-11-21 19:20

#10 ...BLM insurrectionists who burned cities? How many FBI, DHS, and other agents were inciting those?

Posted by: Procopius2k 2024-11-21 17:38

#9 I think you guys are a bunch of shitheads for defending the violent January 6th crowd.

Posted by: Penguin_of_the_Best_Desert 2024-11-21 16:31

#8 Tinfoilers who were saying he couldn't pass a background check if he were a regular citizen before the censors really turned the screws, collect your winnings.

Tinfoilers' batting average adjusted up a hundred points recently.

Posted by: swksvolFF 2024-11-21 15:51

#7 All this while Derek Chauvin sits in prison.

Posted by: Abu Uluque 2024-11-21 13:11

#6 Yogananda Pittman In handcuffs would be my preference.

Posted by: Super Hose 2024-11-21 12:56

#5 That's why he was Capital Police. No other Police Force would accept such a poor candidate. He was a DEI Affirmative Action Hire. Worst of the worse. Did you see his trigger disciple? Lousy cop.

Posted by: mossomo 2024-11-21 12:54

#4 And, IIRC, not long after the killing of Ashli Babbitt, Byrd was promoted.

I also recall some Dem equating calling Byrd a 'thug' with racism, as if black police officers can not be thugs, only white police officers.

OT - I also just read that Jussie Smolett's hate crime hoax got overturned. How quaint. I can't believe that was five years ago already.

Posted by: DooDahMan 2024-11-21 12:53

#3 ^ YES

Posted by: Big Bluetooth1422 2024-11-21 07:03

#2 I pray that Byrd's time is coming.

Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2024-11-21 04:46

#1 Tennessee man convicted for Jan. 6 riot found guilty of plotting to kill FBI agents who investigated him

Posted by: Skidmark 2024-11-21 04:41

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