Topline
President Biden has been briefed on the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday, labeling the teenager’s Tuesday death—which came as former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd—a “tragic” incident and a reflection of the necessity to pass the sweeping policing reform the administration is advocating for.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki during a daily press briefing on April 20, 2021 in Washington, ... [+]
Key Facts
Bryant was shot four times by a Columbus, Ohio, officer on Tuesday afternoon while police responded to a 911 call about an attempted stabbing.
Police body camera footage released late Tuesday shows an officer firing multiple shots at Bryant as she lunged at two other people with a knife, but family members of the deceased teenager have since said she was trying to defend herself after being confronted by a group of women at the foster home where she was living.
Psaki said during a Wednesday press conference Biden is aware of Bryant’s death and that the White House is “thinking of her friends and family and the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss.”
“She was just a child,” Psaki said, emphasizing the disproportionate impacts of violence on communities of color and the “particular vulnerabilities that children in foster care, like Ma’Khia Bryant, face.”
The Biden administration is focusing on addressing “systemic racism and implicit bias head on,” Psaki said, pointing to Biden’s Tuesday speech urging Congress to pass a wide-ranging police reform bill, dubbed the “George Floyd Justice In Policing Act.”
Among other provisions, this bill would end qualified immunity for police officers, and ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants in federal drug cases.
Crucial Quote
“We know police violence disproportionately impacts Black and Latino people and communities and that Black women and girls — like Black men and boys — experience higher levels of police violence,” Psaki said. “[Bryant’s] death came just as America was hopeful of a step forward after a traumatic and exhausting trial of Derek Chauvin and the verdict that was reached,” Psaki said.
Key Background
The shooting of Bryant happened roughly 20 minutes before Chauvin became one of very few police officers to be convicted of murder for an on-duty death. Distraught protesters quickly gathered at the scene and Interim Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods held an emergency press conference late Tuesday to make public the body camera footage of the shooting. The officer, who has not yet been named, has been placed on administrative leave, Woods said, as the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation handles its investigation of the shooting.
Chief Critic
Bryant’s mother, Paula Bryant, told WBNS in an interview that her daughter “dispatched Columbus police for protection, not to be a homicide,” demanding answers from the city on why her daughter ended up dead.
Further Reading
“Ohio Police Officer Fatally Shoots Black Teenage Girl, Bodycam Footage Released” (Forbes)
“Biden, Harris Call On Congress To Pass Police Reform Following Chauvin Guilty Verdict” (Forbes)
