A police officer in the US state of Ohio has shot dead a 16-year-old black girl while responding to an emergency telephone over an attempted stabbing. The teenager involved with the episode, in the state capital Columbus, was identified as Ma’Khia Bryant. Columbus police have generated bodycam footage which appears to show the girl attacking others with a knife before being shot. An question is under way, together with officials urging local residents to stay calm.T he officer involved was put on paid administrative leave.
Authorities were called to an address at a mountainous region of Columbus at about 16:45 local time (20:45 GMT) on Tuesday, the Columbus Dispatch newspaper reported. Bodycam footage supplied by the police indicates an altercation with a bunch of individuals outside a home before one of them – said to be Ma’Khia Bryant – seems to lunge at another member of this group with a knife in hand. A police officer approaches the group in the driveway and yelled” get down” before firing several shots, fatally injuring the girl.
The officer has been heard saying in the footage: “She had a knife, she only went .” A bystander said that she is just a child. Officials have said the officer opened fire in order to conserve the life of one of those women. A woman identified in local press as Ms Bryant’s aunt said her niece was simply defending herself after being attacked. Hazel Bryant was quoted by local TV channel WSYX-TV as stating: “She had been a fantastic kid. Yeah, she’d issues, but that is OK. She didn’t deserve to die as a dog in the street. “Talking to local broadcaster WBNS-TV, Ma’Khia Bryant’s mom, Paula Bryant, said she had been “hurt” by what had occurred and that her kid had been a “loving girl”. “This shouldn’t have occurred,” she said, adding: “I need answers.”
Paula Bryant said her daughter, who was staying at a foster home, was “looking forward to coming home”. “In the conclusion of this evaluation, the divisional police will conduct an administrative review of these actions of this officer and all officers at location,” he explained. “It is a tragic episode for those involved, but especially for the household of the female.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther explained it as “dreadful, heart-breaking” plus a “tragic day in town”. “We understand, according to this footage, the officer required action to safeguard another young girl in our community – but that the family is grieving tonight. “The White House linked the shooting – which occurred about a hour before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in the May 2020 death of George Floyd – to”systemic racism”.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki told a press conference on Wednesday:” Her departure arrived, as you mentioned, just as America was not aware of a step ahead after the traumatic and exhausting trial of Derek Chauvin along with the verdict that had been reached. “Our focus is on working to tackle systemic racism and proposed bias head-on and, needless to say, to passing legislation and laws that will put much-needed reforms into place in police departments around the nation.”
Chauvin, 45, was filmed on Mr Floyd’s neck for at least nine minutes through his arrest past May. The widely viewed footage triggered global protests against racism and excessive use of force by police. Protesters gathered in Columbus on Wednesday afternoon near the home where the woman’s shooting shot place. Meanwhile, NBA megastar LeBron James encountered a ferocious backlash after submitting a tweet carrying one of their officers involved.