Authorities in Columbus, Ohio have released body camera footage and 911 calls from an incident in which a police officer fatally shot a teenage girl while responding to a disturbance call at a residence. Columbus officer Nicholas Reardon shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant after she was seen attacking another female with a knife on Tuesday afternoon.
During a news conference, interim police Chief Michael Woods released graphic body cam footage of the shooting, saying that Reardon shot the girl as she was attempting to stab someone. Woods said officers arrived at the residence about 4:44 p.m. after dispatch received a call that “females were there trying to stab them and put their hands on them.” A caller can be heard screaming in a 911 call placed at 4:32 p.m. Tuesday, asking police to come and saying someone is trying to stab them. In a second call placed around 4:48 p.m., the caller hung up after seeing police at the scene.
Footage shows Reardon arriving first at the residence, and also shows Bryant pushing another female to the ground in an attempt to stab her before attempting to stab a third female whom she had pressed up to the side of a car. Reardon can be heard saying “get down” multiple times in the footage and then at least four gunshots are heard before the girl falls to the ground but police have not confirmed whether additional shots were fired.
The Columbus Police Department took Reardon off street duty and Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation launched a criminal investigation. He said the ongoing investigation will determine whether the actions of the officer fall under what is considered permissible.
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