Columbus police release graphic bodycam footage of Ma'khia Bryant shooting

Sarah Al-Arshani
·3 min read
Screen grab of body cam footage
Screen grab of body cam footage from the officer who shot and killed a 15 year old girl in Columbus on Tuesday. Courtesy of Columbus Police Department

  • Police in Columbus, Ohio fatally shot 15-year-old Ma'khia Bryant on Tuesday.

  • Released bodycam footage shows her running towards two other girls as officers approached.

  • The officer fired several shots at Bryant as she appeared to attack one of the girls.

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Segments of police body camera footage that were shown at a press conference on Tuesday following the fatal police shooting of 15-year-old Ma'khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio, show her running away from an officer while holding what police described as a knife.

The disturbing video was shown at a press conference Tuesday night. According to Interim Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods, police were dispatched to 3171 Legion Lane in the Walnut Heights area at 4:36 p.m. after receiving a call that several girls were fighting outside the home and dispatchers were unable to discern what, if any, weapons were at the scene.

Police arrived at the two-story home at 4:44 p.m and the footage shows a group of between six and eight people gathered in front of the house.

Within the first few seconds of their arrival, Ma'khia Bryant runs into the body camera's view and appears to push another girl to the ground.

Bryant then runs away from the officer and appears to swing a knife at another girl standing by the hood of a car.

The officer then fires his weapon multiple times at Bryant. A knife appears to drop next to her as she falls to the ground.

The entire incident occurs within the first 15 seconds of the video.

Two officers then move towards Bryant and call for medical support while people standing by can be heard yelling: "She's just a kid," and "are you stupid?"

Public records law requires police to blur the face of any juvenile in a video, Woods said, adding that nothing other than the blurring of faces had been done to the recording.

City officials said they would be unable to release all the footage from the scene pending review from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is heading up an independent investigation into the incident.

Family members previously identified Bryant as the victim. The Franklin County Children's Services confirmed her identity on Tuesday night, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Hazel Bryant told the Dispatch that Ma'khia Bryant was her niece and said she lived at a foster home on Legion Lane where the shooting took place. She said the victim got into an altercation with someone else at the home when police were called.

The unidentified officer has been removed from duty.

"It's a tragic day in the city of Columbus. It's a horrible, heartbreaking situation," Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said during Tuesday night's press conference. "We felt transparency in sharing this footage, as incomplete as it is at this time."

Woods said protocol allows police officers to use deadly force to protect themselves and others. He said BCI will conduct the investigation and assess if the officer's actions were justified.

Warning: The video below contains both graphic images and language.

Read the original article on Insider

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