A teenage black girl by the name of Ma’Khia Bryant was shot and killed by police during an alleged knife attack in Columbus, Ohio. Initial reports of the shooting happened just moments before the Derrick Chauvin trial verdict was reached. There may have been Black Lives Matter or BLM-affiliated groups already in the area staging protests for the “incorrect” Chauvin verdict. One way or another, these groups assembled and they immediately went down to the police station to protest the shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant.
Columbus Police Department got the body camera footage out almost immediately. The footage completely ruins the idea of an “unarmed black girl” or “innocent black girl” gunned down by police. Police pull up to a scene of chaos and calm. A young lady wearing all pink calmly approaches the police officer as he arrives, which signals that she may have been the one to call the police, not Ma’Khia Bryant as online rumors (and other sources) may suggest.
To the officer’s right, there was a scuffle involving two females and a male. One female was pushed to the ground by another female. The apparent aggressor, in this case, is Ma’Khia Bryant. She appeared to have a knife at the point where the girl was pushed down. The officer successfully prevented any stabbing of the girl on the ground. The male standing by apparently tried to kick the girl on the ground in the head. After Bryant disengages from the girl on the ground, she then engages the “calm” girl in the pink who originally approached the officer when he pulled up. Bryant is clearly caught on camera swinging her knife and attempting to stab the young lady in the pink.
The police officer on the scene has no other choice but to shoot Ma’Khia Bryant once she raised her knife in a stabbing motion directly beside the young lady in the pink. He did what was necessary to protect life. Critics say that the officer could have used a taser or some type of pepper spray. This does not make sense because the knife was already in full swing and stab motion. There is a split second to react in order to prevent serious injury and/or save a life. Using methods with high failure rates and slow preparation times simply makes no sense in a life-or-death situation.
Ma’Khia Bryant’s family says that she called the police because girls were jumping her outside of her house. The family also said that Bryant was sixteen years old. The city and public officials from Franklin County, Ohio say something different. Ma’Khia was apparently 15 years old and a ward of the state, under the county’s foster care. And the 9-11 call was not attributed to a specific person, but the content of the call was given by authorities. The call was apparently for one female who was trying to stab and “put hands” on people. When the officer pulled up, this description matched Ma’Khia Bryant.
SOURCES:
Bodycam footage shows fatal police shooting of 16-year-old girl in southeast Columbus | 10tv.com
Police in Columbus, Ohio shoot, kill teenager Ma’Khia Bryant and release bodycam video – CBS News
Ohio Cop Fatally Shoots Black Teen Ma’Khia Bryant Who Had a Knife During Fight with Girls
Columbus police fatally shoots Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, quickly releases body-cam footage
Comments are closed.