Ashli Babbitt
A DC Metropolitan Police Report on the Ashli Babbitt shooting was obtained by Judicial Watch. It shows one thing clearly. There was no legitimate justification for Lt. Michael Byrd to shoot and kill Ashli Babbitt.

The standard requirement for use of deadly force was in effect which requires an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. None of the statements by officers at the scene show that standard was met.

"Sergeant [redacted] observed Lieutenant Byrd step back just after hearing the gunshot. He did not see anything in the female protester's hands prior to the gunshot"

Lt. Michael Byrd Ashli Babbitt
All of them agree that no one saw Ashli Babbitt with a weapon of any kind and the only possible threat she posed was simply climbing through a window. Officers present stated she had not made any threats or shown any violent action toward them.

One officer advanced the rationale that since Byrd was threatening to shoot them, it would have emboldened the crowd if he had not then actually shot her. That is an absurd line of reasoning. Another said that if Byrd had not killed Ashli Babbitt the protesters could have taken his gun and used it against them.

Yet Babbitt was nowhere near Byrd and had shown no violent actions. It's as if she was chosen at random to teach the protesters a lesson or to serve as an example. This is noted in the statement of one of the other officer's present.

"She was just dressed the part...she had a Trump flag around her neck...if it wasn't her, I mean it would have been someone else."

Lt. Michael Byrd Ashli Babbitt
This same officer noted that Babbitt had committed no actions other than yelling and climbing through the window. So it implies they felt justified to shoot a random protester

The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia declined to charge Lt. Byrd with any crimes. If this is now the standard it means police can use deadly force to stop protesters from trespassing.

That is a horrible precedent and this is a failure to hold Lt. Byrd responsible for the murder he committed.
About the Author

Jim Hanson served in US Army Special Forces and conducted Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Insurgency as well as Diplomatic, Intelligence and Humanitarian operations in more than a dozen countries. He is the author of Cut Down the Black Flag - A Plan to Defeat the Islamic State, and has appeared on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, BBC, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, C-Span, and numerous national radio shows.