As the nation held its breath waiting for a verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the murder of George Floyd, another police officer, this time in Ohio, shot and killed a Black teenager.
According to body camera footage, the Columbus officer shot Ma’Khia Bryant, 15, in the chest after she attempted to cut two other women with a knife.
The Columbus Division of Police released body cam footage of the officer shooting and killing Bryant. Warning: This video contains graphic and violent content.
"Ma'Khia was a foster child, who was under the care of Franklin County Children Services," the FCCS said in a public statement. "This was a tragic incident, and FCCS is continuing its involvement with the family throughout this difficult time."
The shooting happened about 30 minutes before Chauvin’s verdict was delivered and less than 5 miles from the site of Andre Hill's funeral earlier this year. Hill was killed by another Columbus police officer in December. The officer in Hill's case, Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, is now facing trial for murder, with the next hearing scheduled for April 28.
"As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting," Floyd family attorney Ben Crump tweeted.
Police received a call at 4:32 p.m. reporting the altercation between Bryant and the women, Columbus Interim Police Chief Michael Woods said in a Tuesday night press conference.
When police arrived, bodycam video shows a fight between two people, and then a teen quickly move toward another teen girl with what appeared to be a knife. The office is heard yelling, "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Get down!" before she appears to lunge at a second girl with the knife.
The officer is heard telling her, "Get Down! Get down! Get down! Get down!" He then fires four shots in the direction of the teenager.
Officers attended to Bryant. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
The officer has been taken off the job while an investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in the Ohio Attorney General's Office takes place.
"We know, based on this footage, the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said at the news conference. "But a family is grieving tonight and this young 15-year-old girl will never be coming home."
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