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Protests Fill Downtown Columbus After Police Killing Of Ma’Kiah
By: Clare Roth | WOSU
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOSU) — Protesters were back on the streets of Columbus Tuesday, hours after a police officer fatally shot a Black teenage girl following a 911 call.
Body camera footage released by police shows several people fighting in a driveway. The video shows Ma’Kiah Bryant, 16, pushing one person to the ground before appearing to swing a knife at another person.
The police officer yells “get down” repeatedly and fires four shots, hitting Bryant.
Few other details have been released, including information about what happened just before the footage started.
Bryant’s mother told WBNS that Ma’Kiah Bryant called police for help, while police would not confirm Bryant called 911. Police on Tuesday also declined to release the name of the officer who killed Bryant.
Bryant’s death came just after the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial of murdering George Floyd.
Activist Karla Carey says Black people can’t celebrate before having to mourn again.
“So as much as I’m glad about the George Floyd verdict to find out that a 16-year-old girl gets killed because she called for help…it’s disturbing, it’s heartbreaking. Enough is enough,” Carey said.
Columbus Director of Public Safety Ned Pettus said the officer will be held accountable.
“If an officer has violated a policy or the law…they will be held accountable,” Pettus said. “Our city deserves answers. I want answers. But fast, quick answers cannot come at the cost of accurate answers.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting.
Original Story
Newspaper reports say Columbus police have shot and killed a teenage girl on the city’s Southeast side. The shooting was reported Tuesday afternoon just as the verdict was being announced in the trial for the killing of George Floyd.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was at the scene on the city’s southeast side. The newspaper reports that officers had been responding to an attempted stabbing call when police shot the girl at about 4:45 p.m.
The 911 caller reported a female was trying to stab them before hanging up, according to the newspaper. The girl was reportedly pronounced dead at a hospital.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said in series of Tweets on Tuesday night that there is police body camera footage of the shooting and city officials will be reviewing it as soon as possible.
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 . . .
— Mayor Andrew Ginther (@MayorGinther) April 20, 2021
This is a developing story that will be updated.