The Capitol Police officer, who shot and killed demonstrator Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6, 2021, protest, is set to be promoted from lieutenant to captain.
Roll Call reported that Michael Byrd's planned promotion was announced by police in an internal memo.
Babbitt, 35, was fatally shot while attempting to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the office lobby of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi inside the Capitol.
Roll Call noted that Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was not armed.
The Justice Department made the decision not to bring criminal charges against Byrd, the outlet said. A probe by the Capitol Police's Office of Professional Responsibility found Byrd's conduct was "lawful and within Department policy."
Some Republicans have characterized Babbitt's death differently.
In February, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. said she wanted to use her position on the House Oversight Committee to investigate claims of "civil rights abuses" committed against Trump supporters arrested on Jan. 6 and review Babbitt's shooting.
Also being promoted by Capitol Police is Caroline Edwards, who testified before a House select committee about the violence she saw during the protest.
Edwards recalled how she was knocked unconscious and described the environment at the Capitol that day as a "war zone." She will be promoted to sergeant.
According to a police spokesperson, the department doesn't discuss individual personnel matters. The police representative added promotions "were well earned across the department to include multiple captains, lieutenants, and sergeants."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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