[La Grande Guerra] The unnamed cop who fired the deadly shot claims to have not known there had been three cops guarding the door. He says he had only seen the crowd advancing towards him in the moments before Babbitt's death at around 2:30pm.Footage shows the three cops guarding the door had no visible shields or riot gear.
The officer, who was put on leave pending an investigation, also claims he did not know a tactical team was on its was to help clear out the rioters.
Footage shows as the three cops guarding the door appear to make way for this team, with one saying: ’They’re ready to roll.’
But that leaves the door completely unguarded as the rioters continue to try and break down the doors. The officer who shot at Babbit has told officials he did not know if any of those in the crowd were armed as he fired his single shot.
He also said he had no advance planning on how to deal with such a charge on the building. Babbitt and the crowd she joined had been heading for the passage that was being used to evacuate the House floor.
The officer said he had used tables and chairs to barricade the door to the highly restricted area and said he had 31 rounds in his gun. The officer said he also thought he heard that shots had been fired elsewhere in the Capitol earlier in the siege.
Chad Barrett Jones, 42, of Coxs Creek, Kentucky, is accused of trying to smash the windows of the door where Babbitt was shot with a long, wooden flagpole