Michael Byrd biography: 13 things about cop who shot Ashli Babbitt

Who is Michael Byrd?

Michael Leroy Byrd is a American police captain born in Washington, D.C., United States. He is a resident of Brandywine, Maryland, USA.

Aside from Brandywine, Byrd has lived in other parts of Maryland including Cheltenham, Clinton and Capitol Heights. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 1993, he joined the U.S. Capitol Police. He went on to become the commander of the agency’s House of Representatives chamber section.
2. From November 8, 1998 to October 3, 2003, he served on the House Capitol Police Board.
3. In 2004, he fired his weapon  at a stolen vehicle as it was fleeing his residential neighborhood while he was an off-duty sergeant.
4. In 2015, while he was off duty, he allegedly confronted a fellow officer, who was working at a high school football game in an incident with racial overtones.
5. In February 2019, he was investigated for leaving his department-issued Glock-22 firearm, which fires .40-caliber rounds, unattended in a restroom on the House of Representatives side of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. During a routine security sweep, another officer found the abandoned gun, which had no manual safety to prevent unintended firing.
6. On January 6, 2021, he used a Glock-22 to fire one shot, striking Ashli Babbitt, 35, in the shoulder as she tried to climb through one of the glass doors leading into the lobby of the House of Representatives chamber inside U.S. Capitol building. She was one of the rioters who breached the building that day. She fell to the ground and later died from her injuries. After the shooting, he remained in Maryland on paid administrative leave.
7. On February 25, 2021, the acting House sergeant at arms cited him during a brief discussion of the officer who shot Babbitt.
8. In April 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that he was cleared of wrongdoing in relation to the shooting of Babbitt on January 6, 2021 after examining video, physical evidence from the scene, autopsy results and statements from him, other officers and witnesses. Nevertheless, neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor the U.S. Capitol Police officially released his name.
9. On August 26, 2021, NBC aired his “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” interview, marking the first time he was officially identified as the police officer who shot Babbitt on January 6, 2021.
10. In May 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry imposed financial and travel restrictions on him and 499 other U.S. citizens.
11. On August 27, 2024, he was promoted from lieutenant to captain.
12. On January 5, 2024, Babbitt’s family filed in federal court in San Diego, California, USA a $30 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the U.S. government. The lawsuit argued that when he shot her on January 6, 2021, he was not in uniform and he neither identified himself as a police officer not issued a warning before opening fire.
13. In April 2024, he turned 56.