The Trump administration has agreed to pay a $5m (£3.7m) settlement to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a US Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer while breaching the US Congress on 6 January 2021. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told CBS, the BBC's US partner, he is "extremely disappointed" with the decision. The officer involved in her shooting has been cleared of any wrongdoing. The settlement resolves a $30m wrongful death suit filed by Babbitt's family and the conservative activist group Judicial Watch. Thousands of Trump supporters descended on the US Capitol on 6 January in an attempt to halt the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. Babbitt was part of a group that smashed windows in an effort to enter the chamber of the House of Representatives while it was still in session, forcing lawmakers to delay certification and flee for safety. Video of the incident shows her being shot in the shoulder after attempting to climb through a door. She later died in hospital. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt's family claimed that the decision to open fire by Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd was negligent, and that Babbitt's hands were in the air when she was shot. Family members say that Babbitt was motivated to come to the Capitol by Trump's claims of election fraud. No evidence has ever surfaced of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Byrd previously defended the move to fire his gun, saying the group of lawmakers and security "were essentially trapped" and had "no way to retreat". In August 2021, a Capitol Police review found that Byrd's decision saved lives and was consistent with police training and procedures. A justice department review also found no evidence of any police wrongdoing. "This is extremely disappointing and I completely disagree with the Department of Justice's decision," Chief Manger said in a statement to staff after learning of the settlement, the Washington Post reported. "This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement officers across our nation — especially those who have a protective mission like ours," he added. In January, on his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump issued a blanket pardon for more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants, including hundreds accused of assaulting police. He also fired the federal prosecutors who handled those cases. Trump in March told conservative news outlet Newsmax that he's "a big fan of Ashli Babbitt" and that she was "innocently standing there" when she was shot. "And a man did something unthinkable to her when he shot her, and I think it's a disgrace," he said, promising to "look into" the lawsuit brought by her family. — BBC
