Columbus, Ohio, police released graphic body cam video showing the Columbus police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant. You can watch the video in this story, but be forewarned that it is very disturbing.
Bryant was shot and killed by an officer in Columbus shortly before the verdict in the Derek Chauvin case was already focusing renewed attention on police-related deaths.
Watch the body cam video below. The video was played during a police press conference only a few hours after the shooting as police attempted to quell growing protests. The press conference starts at about 5 minutes into the below video. The body cam video is played shortly thereafter.
Police said that the girl shot was a “female with a knife trying to stab” another person when shot. The body cam video shows the officer arriving to a chaotic fight scene, with Bryant attacking another female, who falls on the ground, before moving toward a second woman near a car, police say with a knife. The officer then shoots her dead. Officers are allowed to use deadly force to protect the life of a third person, authorities said; the shooting is under investigation, and the officer’s name has not been released.
Body cam videoBryant is in the blue jeans by the car.
Other graphic videos emerged from the scene, which you can also see throughout this story. Protests erupted.
Bryant’s name was confirmed by her family to ABC6 and other local news stations. The circumstances of the shooting are still under investigation. The shooting happened on April 20, 2021, sometime between 3:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Some sites gave her name as Makiah Bryant, Makiyah Bryant or Makhia Bryant, but her mother confirmed to 10TV reporter Lacey Crisp that the correct spelling is Ma’Khia Bryant. Other reports gave her age as 15, but her mother told local journalists she is 16.
Here’s what you need to know:
Family Members Expressed Anger at the Scene, Describing Ma’Khia, a Foster Child, as a Loving Person
Found her TikTok #makhiabryant beautiful girl. Let’s spread these positive vids ❤️❤️ #SayHerName pic.twitter.com/RyDDhzQAPR
— gracieミ☆ (@mercxkurt) April 21, 2021
Franklin County Children Services released a statement saying that Bryant, 16, was a foster child who was under the care of the Franklin County Children Services. ‘This was a tragic incident and FCCS is continuing its involvement with the family throughout this difficult time,” the release says, naming Bryant and saying she was fatally shot in Southeast Columbus.
A woman who said she was Bryant’s aunt told reporters the girl was a loving person who didn’t deserve to die “like a dog in the street.”
Crisp wrote, “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 Columbus Division of Police officer on Legion Lane at 4:30p today.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther confirmed the girl had died. “This afternoon a young woman tragically lost her life. 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. BCI is on the scene conducting an independent investigation,” he wrote on Twitter, “as they do with all CPD-involved shootings. We will share information that we can as soon as it becomes available. I’m asking for residents to remain calm and allow BCI to gather the facts.”
WARNING: Video contains strong language. A woman near Legion Lane in South Columbus says her niece was killed earlier tonight after an officer involved shooting. Police still haven’t confirmed the victim. https://t.co/kBtSPxc6Xh pic.twitter.com/eTpmyWsoZK
— WSYX ABC 6 (@wsyx6) April 20, 2021
A woman who said she was Bryant’s aunt described her as a good person and expressed great anger at her death. Be forewarned the video contains expletives.
“You ain’t going to have my niece go out like that. Either you report the truth or you don’t report nothing,” she told reporters at the scene.
“She was a good kid. She was loving. Yeah she had issues, but that’s okay. All of us go through s***. She was 15 motherf****** years old. She didn’t deserve to die like a dog in the street.”
Police Responded to a Call of an Attempted Stabbing
According to ABC6, the call came in around 3:45 p.m. April 20, 2021, for an attempted stabbing in the 3000 block of Legion Lane in Columbus. 10TV wrote that police responded for a disturbance.
“The caller reported a female was trying to stab them, then the caller hung up,” The Columbus Dispatch reported.
According to 10TV, Bryant’s family says the teen “called the police for help because girls were fighting outside her house.”
The girl’s aunt, Hazel Bryant, told The Dispatch that Bryant lived in a foster home and “got into an altercation with someone else at the home.” She said Ma’Khia had a knife but alleged she dropped it before being shot multiple times by a Columbus police officer. Police have not confirmed nor denied those details.
The Shooting Upset Many People at the Scene
“This is the racist a** b**** that shot this poor f****** girl,” a woman said in a live stream video on Facebook. She said the officer said the girl “tried to stab him.”
“That’s someone’s f****** daughter b****,” the woman said in a graphic live stream. You can watch it here and below, but be aware it’s disturbing.
A woman’s sobbing is heard in the video. It’s not clear whether the officer pictured in the above video is the same officer who shot Bryant, however.
Here’s more video from the scene. Again, it contains graphic language.
Ma’Khia’s mother told Crisp: “Ma’Khia had a motherly nature about her. She promoted peace.”
Ma’khia showed a joy for life in her many TikTok videos. Here’s one.
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