The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau ruled that the beating of an unconscious Trump supporter — who later died — at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was "objectively reasonable," The Epoch Times reported.
A Texas man who assembled video evidence of a D.C. police officer striking an unconscious Rosanne Boyland filed a complaint that resulted in Internal Affairs beginning an investigation in September 2021, The Epoch Times reported.
Boyland, 34, was struck by a D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer, Lila Morris, with a steel baton and a large wooden stick at the entrance to the Capitol's West Terrace tunnel, according to video.
Gary McBride, of Decatur, Texas, filed a police brutality complaint with the police department on Sept. 14, 2021. He assembled a library of videos recorded at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Following two months of back-and-forth correspondence with police officials, McBride was told via email on Nov. 15 that Morris had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
"The use of force within this investigation was determined to be objectively reasonable," wrote Capt. David K. Augustine, director of the Risk Management Division of the MPD Internal Affairs Bureau, The Epoch Times reported.
"Officer Morris is still employed with the MPD and not facing criminal charges related to the use of force on Jan. 6."
McBride told The Epoch Times that he was shocked by the department's conclusion.
"It told me right there that it's OK for them to do what they do," McBride said. "They are doing exactly what they want to do. They don't care if you know or see.
"They just showed me that they're going to go beat somebody and kill them, but they have the power to say, 'That was objectively reasonable.' And we're supposed to accept that and say, OK."
Boyland, from Kennesaw, Georgia, had been pinned under a pile of protesters fleeing via the tunnel after police deployed crowd-control gas. She then lost consciousness and stopped breathing after several minutes of being crushed by the weight of other fallen protesters.
Boyland's friend, Justin Winchell, pleaded with police and protesters to provide first aid to Boyland. Police bodycam video shows Winchell's shock when he saw Morris strike Boyland in the head, The Epoch Times said.
"She's gonna die! She's gonna die! … I need somebody! She's dead!” Winchell cried.
Boyland was pronounced dead more than 90 minutes later.
The medical examiner ruled that Boyland died of accidental acute amphetamine intoxication, The Washington Post reported in April.
Bret Boyland, the victim's father, said the family wants to know why Morris attacked Rosanne.
"She had a choice; that officer had a choice," Bret Boyland told The Epoch Times. "She could have helped her right there at that point in time. But she chose to grab the stick and start hitting her."
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