In what may have seemed like a moment of relief for many around the country, as a Minneapolis court announced a guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin case, which found the former officer guilty on all three counts for the killing of the late George Floyd, quickly returned to grievance after yet another police officer killing.
Yesterday, as the Chauvin verdict came down, a Columbus, Ohio police officer shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant. Body-cam footage has been released, but details surrounding the killing are still under investigation. It is believed that someone from Bryant’s home called the police as she was being attacked by a group of neighborhood girls, but when police arrived, the teenager yielded a knife as she approached another girl in attempts to stab her, and during this time, an unidentified officer rang out four shots, which killed Bryant at the scene. In the footage, a bystander tells the officer, “She’s a f****** kid, man.”
Paula Bryant tells me her 16 year-old daughter Ma’Khia Bryant was an honor roll student and a sweet child. Ma’Khia was shot and killed by a @ColumbusPolice on Legion Lane at 4:30p today. pic.twitter.com/0FfbQVEgSD
— Lacey Crisp (@LaceyCrisp) April 21, 2021
this is the mother of ma’khia bryant. her baby girl died today at the hands of police. say her name. #makhiabryant pic.twitter.com/B8B5KRStYH
— mads • loves k (@illusionluvbot) April 21, 2021
The Columbus, Ohio Mayor Andrew Ginther held a press conference last night, explaining, “We know, based on this footage, the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community.” The Columbus Interim Chief of Police Michael Woods also spoke to the community shortly after the killing occurred and stated, “Normally we don’t provide information this soon, but we understand the public’s need, desire and expectation to have transparency upon what happened.”
As more details become available, protests have ignited, once again, and a family and community mourns the loss of yet another black child.
“We know, based on this footage, the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community.”
The mayor of Columbus, OH, says the officer that shot and killed a teenage black girl in order to defend another girl in an altercation that included a knife. pic.twitter.com/aRYQ5DQ6Eo
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 21, 2021
