By Sarah Polus - 04/24/21 04:47 PM EDT
Witnesses at the scene when 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was shot and killed said that the police officer involved had no regard for her life, The Associated Press reports.
On Tuesday, Bryant was fatally shot in the back four times by a Columbus, Ohio, police officer, according to body camera footage released this week.
The officer, identified as Nicholas Reardon, shot at Bryant after she appeared to lunge at another person at the scene. He claimed in the footage that she had a knife in her hand.
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Following the shooting, witnesses at the scene slammed the police officer, stating that he could have de-escalated the situation instead of opening fire.
Columbus police shoot and kill a Black teenage girl
Dispatch, police received a 911 call at 4:35 p.m. reporting an attempted stabbing on the 3100 block of Legion Lane. The caller said that a female was trying to stab them, and then hung up the phone. Officers responded to the scene, and at 4:45 p.m. the police shooting was reported. Bryant was then transported to Mount Carmel East, where she was pronounced dead at 5:21 p.m., according to NBC 4. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was on the scene Tuesday night to investigate the shooting.
“This afternoon a young woman tragically lost her life,” Mayor Andrew Ginther wrote on Twitter early Tuesday evening. “We do not know all of the details. There is body-worn camera footage of the incident. We are working to review it as soon as possible.”
By Cherranda Smith
Apr 22, 2021
On Wednesday (April 21), Columbus, Ohio officials released the name of the officer who fatally shot 16-year-old
Nicholas Reardon is the officer, officials said, who arrived on the scene on Tuesday afternoon (April 20) and fired multiple shots at the teen, killing her. Reardon joined the Columbus Police Department in 2019 and is currently on leave, authorities said during a press conference on Wednesday (April 21).
Additional footage of Ma’Khia’s killing was also released during the press conference along with tapes of the 911 call. The city’s Public Safety Director
Ned Pettus asked the community for patience as investigations are conducted.
Columbus, Ohio police fatally shoot Ma’Khia Bryant, 16; release body cam footage
Updated 6:57 AM;
Today 6:57 AM
Local citizens confront police in the neighborhood where a Columbus police officer fatally shot a teenage girl, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)AP
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By Mark Ferenchik The Columbus Dispatch (TNS) and Tribune Media Services
In an unprecedented move, Columbus, Ohio police showed body camera footage of the shooting of a 16-year-old girl by a Columbus police officer just hours after the incident on the Southeast Side.
The shooting, which happened about 20 minutes before a guilty verdict was announced in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd, prompted hundreds to protest at the shooting site and Downtown.