Columbus police on Wednesday released additional body camera video showing 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant lunging at another woman with a knife before she is fatally shot by a police officer.
During a press conference held by top brass and city officials to provide an update on the case, Interim Chief of Police Michael Woods identified the officer who shot Bryant as Nicholas Reardon and revealed that he has been on the force since December 2019.
As part of a push for transparency and accountability, police released three body camera recordings, along with two 911 calls reporting the disturbance that ultimately led to the shooting.
On one of the calls, a frantic young woman is heard begging an emergency operator to send an officer to an address on the east side of Columbus on Tuesday afternoon.
Police in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday released additional bodycam video from the officer-involved fatal shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, which shows her lunging at two women with a knife (pictured above)
A slowed-down version of the video from the body camera of the officer who shot Bryant shows the teen holding a knife in her right hand and raising it toward a woman in a neon track suit. Moments later, four gunshots ring out
Officer Nicholas Reardon is seen holding his service weapon after firing four shots at Bryant
Video from officers on the scene shows police administering first aid to a mortally wounded Bryant, seen resting on the ground against a car
The victim of the police shooting was identified by her mother as Ma’Khia Bryant on Facebook
‘We got girls out here… trying to fight us and trying to stab us,’ she shouts into the phone to make her voice heard above sounds of people screaming in the background. ‘We need a police officer here now.’
Video from Officer Reardon’s body camera shows him arriving on the scene of the fight at 4.44pm on Tuesday, and encountering several people fighting outside.
One of them, Bryant, is seen in the video swinging a knife at a young woman in shorts, who falls to the ground.
A slowed-down version of the video shows Bryant then turning her attention toward another woman in a bright-pink suit and pinning her against a parked car.
Officer Reardon pulls out his gun and repeatedly shouts, ‘Get down! Get down!’
As Bryant raises her right hand clutching the knife and directs it at the woman in pink, who cowers to defend herself from the blow, Reardon fires four shots and Bryant collapses to the ground.
‘You shot my baby!’ a man cries out.
Faced with growing outrage from witnesses, Reardon says: ‘She had a knife. She just went at her.’
The man who called Bryant his ‘baby’ screams at him: ‘She’s a f***ing kid, man. Are you stupid?’
Video from body cameras worn by other officers on the scene show Bryant lying on the ground in a pool of blood as police perform CPR on her.
Bryant was later rushed to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where she died from her injuries.
‘We know based on this footage the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community,’ Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told reporters during Wednesday’s press conference.
Police initially released portions of Reardon’s body camera video within hours of the shooting in an attempt to show more transparency and ease tensions as Black Lives Matter protesters descended on the scene.
Bryant – described by her mother as a peace-loving honor student – can be seen with a knife as she storms out of the home and towards another woman, with the woman falling backwards.
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Columbus police have released bodycam footage that appears to show 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant with a knife right before she was gunned down by police
The teen turns her attention towards another woman at the scene and runs towards her as the officer opens fire, sending her to the ground.
People can immediately be heard screaming in shock and horror as the scene unfolds.
Officers could be seen looking over Bryant’s body in the footage.
Columbus Police said earlier on Tuesday that one person was killed in the officer-involved shooting that took place on the east side of Columbus, Ohio, in the afternoon.
The officer who opened fire was not identified. Police Chief Michael Woods said he ‘would be taken off the street’ pending an investigation.
Bryant can be seen with a knife as she storms out of the home and towards another woman, with the woman falling backwards. She storms off to another woman as the first woman is kicked in the head by a man
The teen turns her attention towards another woman at the scene and runs towards her as the officer opens fire
As Bryant falls to the ground, the person she was after runs from the gunfire
Makhia Bryant – identified by her mother Paula Bryant on social media – was taken to Mount Carmel East hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead at 5.21pm, WCMH reports.
Speaking to 10TV through tears, Paula Bryant said her daughter had called the police for protection and did not expect to be shot dead.
‘This never should have happened,’ she said. ‘She’s a loving girl.’
Paula Bryant told reporters her daughter was an honor student who was ‘loving’ and ‘promoted peace’
Bryant said Ma’Khia lived in a foster home, but she was hoping to bring the teen and her sister back home soon. The mother and daughter last saw one another on Thursday.
‘We hugged each other. She said “Mommy, I made honor roll.” She said “Mommy, I’m looking forward to coming home,”‘ Bryant said.
The grieving mother added that she wants her daughter to be remembered for her ‘motherly nature.’
‘She promoted peace,’ Bryant said.
Ma’Khia’s aunt, Hazel Bryant, also told reporters that the 16-year-old was a ‘good kid’ and ‘didn’t deserve to die like a dog in the street.’
Though she was originally reported by her aunt as 15, her age has now been updated to 16.
Police had been responding to a report of a stabbing before the fatal shooting. A witness said Makhia, who Hazel Bryant said lived in a foster home, got into an altercation with another resident of the home and was armed with the knife to defend herself when police arrived.
Columbus Police said that one person was killed in the officer-involved shooting that took place on the east side of Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon. A woman at the scene – identified on Facebook as Shonnell Kelley – shared a series of videos from the shooting, including one of the officer who allegedly shot the teen
Makhia Bryant – identified by her mother on social media – was taken to Mount Carmel East hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead at 5.21pm
Authorities said they had been responding to an initial stabbing call at around 4.30pm. The shots fire call was made just 15 minutes later
WARNING: Video contains strong language. A woman near Legion Lane says her niece was killed earlier tonight after an officer involved shooting. Police still haven’t confirmed victim pic.twitter.com/wpx9Wowtwl
— Alexis Moberger (@alexiswsyx6) April 20, 2021
Authorities said they responded to the initial stabbing call at around 4.30pm. The shots fired call was made just 15 minutes later.
Columbus Police have requested Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation to respond to the scene and investigate the shooting.
Woods said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) had opened an inquiry into the case. He and the city’s public safety director, Ned Pettus, Jr., appealed for calm while the investigation proceeds and facts are uncovered in what he called ‘a devastating’ loss of life.
‘Fast, quick answers cannot come at the cost of accurate answers,’ Pettus told a late news conference with the police chief and mayor.
‘BCI will conduct a fully independent investigation, which will be made public. If an officer has violated policy or the law, if they have, they will be held accountable.’
Protesters soon convened at the crime scene and called for action after witnesses described what led to the shooting. Several could be seen praying over the scene while others screamed at the police for the shooting taking place just moments after the verdict for former Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin was read.
A crowd gathers to protest in the neighborhood where a Columbus police officer fatally shot Bryant on Tuesday
A crowd gathers to protest in the neighborhood where a Columbus police officer fatally shot Bryant on Tuesday
‘She was a good kid. She was loving,’ Hazel Bryant, the girl’s aunt (left), told reporters on the street. ‘She was 15 years old. She didn’t deserve to die like a dog in the street.’ Her age has since been updated to 16
A man can be seen holding a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign at the scene where Makhia was fatally gunned down
A woman at the scene – identified on Facebook as Shonnell Kelley – shared a series of videos from the shooting, including one of the officer who allegedly shot the teen.
‘This is the racist a*s b***h, that shot this poor f*****g girl,’ she said in one clip, showing the officer and just part of the girl’s body. ‘I’m not going to put this sh*t on camera but he shot this f*****g girl, talking about she is trying to stab him. Da f**k, this is somebody’s f****g daughter. B***h!’
Kelley shared in the post that the teen had the knife because ‘somebody tried to jump her’ and added that she was the one who called for help.
According to Kelley, the cop ‘didn’t tell her to put it down didn’t ask questions or nothing.’
Hazel Bryant said Makhia dropped the knife before she was shot dead.
10TV reports that Makhia called police because the girls were fighting in front of her house.
More footage from the scene shows paramedics coming to retrieve the teen and take her to a local hospital, where she died
Protesters soon convened at the crime scene and called for action after witnesses described what led to the shooting
Hazel Bryant talks to the media after her niece, 16-year-old Makiyah Bryant, was fatally shot by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio
A woman reacts to the shooting in Columbus
Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther said authorities would be reviewing the bodycam footage.
‘This afternoon a young woman tragically lost her life. We do not know all of the details,’ he said on Twitter. ‘There is body-worn camera footage of the incident. We are working to review it as soon as possible,’ he said in a statement released on Twitter.
Ginther said it appeared from an initial review of the footage that the officer who opened fire ‘took action to protect another young girl in our community.’
‘But another young girl will still not be coming home tonight, he said, adding, ‘I ask everyone to pray for peace. Tonight we pray for this family, we pray for this city, and we pray for our neighbors,’ Ginther said.
Authorities have not provided any additional information but Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther added that there is ‘body-worn camera footage of the incident’
The mayor asked for residents to ‘remain calm’ and allow the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation to look into the case
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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