The family of Ashli Babbitt, the woman shot and killed during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, sued the city of Washington this month to obtain the identity of the officer who fired the fatal shot.
The family is also seeking video of the shooting and documents and witness statements from the Metropolitan Police Department, which investigated the incident, according to CNBC.
The lawsuit was filed last week in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. It comes after Babbitt’s husband made a request for the records to the police department but did not receive a response, CNBC reported.
The city and the Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Terrell N. Roberts III, a Maryland-based attorney representing the Babbitt family, also plans to sue for more than $10 million.
Federal prosecutors cleared the officer who killed Babbitt from any criminal wrongdoing in the shooting earlier this year. They reasoned the officer acted in self-defense and did not identify the officer.
The 35-year-old Air Force veteran was a Trump supporter who unlawfully entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 to protest the certification of the 2020 election results.
Mr. Roberts, the family attorney, previously told The Washington Times he plans to sue the Capitol Police under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which generally requires a notice of six months before filing a lawsuit. The family will also pursue claims against the officer who shot Babbitt.
The Justice Department and Capitol Police have repeatedly declined to identify the officer involved in the killing.
In April, the Justice Department closed the probe into the shooting of Babbitt, saying the officer did not act unreasonably.
“The investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber,” read a press release from the DOJ at the time.
Babbitt entered the Capitol building with a mob during the Jan. 6 ession and attempted to crawl through a broken glass window to enter an interior chamber, according to the Justice Department. It was at that time an officer shot her in the shoulder.
She was taken to Washington Hospital Center where she later died.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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