Dem Senator Claims Knife-Wielding Teen Shot by Police ‘Should Be Alive’

Senator Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) seemed to question the actions of a Columbus police officer who shot a teen girl Tuesday night in order to prevent a stabbing.

“While the verdict was being read in the Derek Chauvin trial, Columbus police shot and killed a sixteen-year-old girl,” Brown wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning. “Her name was Ma’Khia Bryant. She should be alive right now.”

The incident began when police received a 911 call around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, warning of a stabbing attempt in progress. Body camera footage released by police on Wednesday morning showed Bryant pushing an unidentified teenager to the ground, and then attempt to stab another on the hood of a car.

The officer, who is white, shot Bryant in the midst of the attempted stabbing. Bryant, who was in the care of Franklin County Children’s Services, a foster organization, died of her injuries.

“It’s a tragic day in the city of Columbus. It’s a horrible, heartbreaking situation,” Columbus mayor Andrew J. Ginther said in a statement. “We felt transparency in sharing this footage, as incomplete as it is at this time” was critical.

It is not clear what prompted the argument between Bryant and the other teenagers at the scene, or why Bryant attempted the stabbing.

The incident came about half an hour before jurors declared former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of African American resident George Floyd in May 2020. Video of Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground during his arrest for about nine minutes, even after he lost consciousness, sparked massive riots across the U.S. along with demonstrations against racism and police brutality that continued throughout the summer of 2020.