Ma'Khia Bryant's military veteran neighbor has said his home security camera footage proves Columbus Police Officer Nicholas Reard...
Ma'Khia Bryant's military veteran neighbor has said his home security camera footage proves Columbus Police Officer Nicholas Reardon had no choice but to shoot the black 16-year-old because more people could have been killed if he hadn't acted.
Donavon Brinson told Fox News Thursday morning he believes Bryant could have fatally stabbed the young woman she was seen lunging at with a knife if the cop hadn't opened fire in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon.
'He could have either not fired and the young lady in pink could have been stabbed in the neck and brutally or fatally injured and then he could shot [Bryant] and we could have had two [young women] dead - or he could have responded in the way that he did and one young lady lost her life,' he said.
His comments come as a second neighbor said he believes police bodycam footage shows Bryant was in 'full attack mode' and 'needed to be stopped' because a 'young lady's life was at stake'.
New footage has emerged from a security camera on the garage of Brinson's home across the street from the foster home where Bryant was staying and where the incident unfolded out front.
It captured a new angle of the shooting, giving a glimpse into the moments leading up to the fatal incident.
Home security footage has captured a new angle of the shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant as a neighbor said he believes more people could have been killed if the officer hadn't shot the 16-year-old black girl dead in Columbus, Ohio
The 26-second video shows the moments leading up to Tuesday's fatal incident as a girl - later identified as Bryant (pictured) - is seen walking down a driveway toward other people at the very same time that a police car pulls up outside the home
Neighbor Donavon Brinson (pictured) who handed the home security footage to police said, after viewing it, he believes more people could have died if the cop hadn't shot Bryant. The incident 'was violent and all just happened so fast', he said
The 26-second video shows a girl - now known to be Bryant - walking down a driveway toward other people at the very same moment that a police car pulls up outside the home.
Bryant then appears to suddenly charge at another person in the driveway. What happened next was caught on police body camera footage released Wednesday.
Questions continue to mount over the shooting and the events leading up to it, as cops released a 911 call Wednesday thought to have been made by the 16-year-old minutes before she died, in which she asks the dispatcher to send a police officer 'now' as some girls are 'trying to stab us.'
Bryant's family say she made the 911 call after a group of other girls were threatening violence, but Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods told reporters 'we do not know yet' if it is the teen's voice on the call.
Columbus Police released three body camera videos in a press conference Wednesday as the cop who fired the four shots that killed the 16-year-old was identified.
Reardon had been on the force a little over a year, joining in December 2019 after serving in the Air National Guard as a military policeman.
In the bodycam footage, Bryant is seen holding a knife and charging at two other young women. She appeared to be lunging at the second woman with the knife when Reardon opened fire.
The killing of the black girl has sparked protests over police brutality and systematic racism, coming just minutes before white former cop Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd and as another Columbus cop is charged with murder for the December killing of Andre Hill.
Military veteran Brinson told Fox News he believes Reardon was put in a 'bad spot' when he arrived on the scene and had just 'seconds' to respond with his 'best judgement'.
'He only had seconds to respond from my point of view,' he said.
Neighbor Ira Graham III (on right), said he believes the police bodycam footage shows Bryant was in 'full attack mode' and 'needed to be stopped'
'Watching this unfortunately the whole scenario put [the officer] in a bad spot.'
The neighbor told the Columbus Dispatch he came to the conclusion that the cop had no choice but to shoot Bryant after he watched his home security footage of the altercation.
'It was violent and all just happened so fast,' he said.
The footage, which is from much further away than the bodycam footage released by police, shows a young woman dressed in pink and another dressed in dark clothing at the end of the driveway across the street next to a car.
A small group of people are also seen in the road and at least one person in dark clothing further up the driveway.
At this point, an individual in a light-colored top and dark pants is seen emerging from the home.
They appear to be lightly jogging at first before slowing to a walk as they come down the driveway.
This person is followed by Bryant who also walks down the driveway.
The young woman in pink and the person on the driveway are in front of them on the driveway.
Simultaneously, a police car is seen driving into view and pulling up by the side of the road.
An officer - now known to be Reardon - gets out of the vehicle and walks toward the group.
Bryant and the other person from the home appear to be standing still facing the other two people, while a few other people are stood around.
The woman in pink moves back toward the car in front of the driveway.
Bryant appears to suddenly charge at one of the women who then falls to the ground.
Reardon and the woman in pink rush toward the two women but Bryant moves away and then appears to push the woman in pink against the parked car.
It is not clear what led Bryant to charge at the girls at that point or what led to the altercation in the first place.
Brinson said he had witnessed the chaotic scene leading up to the shooting as he drove up to his driveway Tuesday afternoon.
He noticed a commotion going on outside the foster home across the street and initially thought 'it was just a girl fight,' he told the Dispatch.
Brinson said he wasn't concerned by what he saw at the time.
'They were calling each other the B-word, so I figured it was just a girl fight,' Brinson said.
He said the situation seemed to have escalated when he took his dog out soon after.
Brinson said he went inside and was in the home with his wife Rachel when the police arrived and they heard four gunshots.
He recounted his wife hitting the floor while he looked out the window of his laundry room and saw Bryant lying on the ground dying.
It was only when he watched his home security footage, which has been handed over to police, that he said he thought more people might have died had the officer not taken action.
He said neither he nor his father, who lived in the property for 14 years before he moved in in December, had seen anything like that happen before.
The woman who ran the foster home has taken in many children over the years and he does not know of any violent incidents prior to this, he said.
The Columbus cop who fatally shot Ma'Khia Bryant has been identified as a member of the Air National Guard. Nicholas Reardon reportedly received the 'expert marksman' badge while in training
Columbus police on Wednesday released additional body camera video showing 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant lunging at another young woman with a knife before she is fatally shot by a police officer. One of the alleged victims is seen sitting on the ground as Bryant is shot
Officer Nicholas Reardon (blurred left) is seen holding his gun after shooting Bryant as people at the scene screamed at him
A second video from a responding officer showed people running off after the shooting
She told the Dispatch she was at work when the incident happened and did not want to comment.
The deadly shooting has divided opinion in the neighborhood and further afield with neighbor Ira Graham III, who has lived in the area for 19 years, telling the Dispatch he believes the police bodycam footage shows Bryant was in 'full attack mode.'
'I believe in truth and facts. Video doesn't lie. She was in full attack mode,' he said.
Bryant 'was literally aiming a knife at this young lady,' Graham said of the female in pink.
'She needed to be stopped at that point. That young lady's life was at stake.'
But another neighbor said she didn't know why the cop who shot Bryant didn't use a taser instead of firing four bullets at her.
Kayla Cobb said she left flowers at the scene 'because she was a baby.'
Questions around the use of a firearm instead of a taser come as the family of Daunte Wright hold his funeral in Minneapolis Thursday.
The 20-year-old black man was shot dead by Police Officer Kimberly Potter on April 11 when she allegedly fired her gun instead of her taser.
Another local resident Tommy Taylor added to the Dispatch that Reardon 'should have told her to put down the knife.'
Interim Columbus Chief of Police Michael Woods released bodycam footage from three officers on the scene Wednesday as well as two 911 calls made minutes before the shooting.
The video also showed another officer arriving to the scene and preparing to render aid to Bryant who was sprawled out on the cement
As the officer tried to help Bryant, she is heard gasping for breath. The officer is seen trying to find the entry wounds of the bullets when the video ends
A third video shows the view from Reardon's body camera. He's seen arriving on the scene of the fight at 4.44pm on Tuesday, and encountering several people fighting outside (pictured)
A slowed-down version of the video from the body camera of the officer who shot Bryant shows the teen holding a knife in her right hand and raising it toward a woman in a neon track suit. Moments later, four gunshots ring out
In one 911 call, a young woman is heard frantically asking the dispatcher to send police to the address because people are 'trying to stab us.'
Bryant's family have said it was the 16-year-od herself who made the call.
Shouting and a commotion can be heard in the background throughout the call as the dispatcher repeatedly asks 'what's going on' and if the caller has seen any weapons.
The caller begins by giving the address before she stops speaking and inaudible shouting is heard in the background.
'What's going on?' asks the dispatcher.
The woman appears to say 'come up here' but the audio is not clear.
'We got girls out here [inaudible]... trying to fight us and trying to stab us, trying to put their hands on our grandma... [inaudible],' she says.
The victim of the police shooting was identified by her mother as Ma'Khia Bryant on Facebook
'Can you see any weapons?' the dispatcher asks, repeating: 'Ma'am do you see any weapons?'
The caller does not respond.
'We need a police officer over here now. We need a crisis officer over here now,' she says, before the line goes dead.
The call was made at 4:32 pm - around 15 minutes before Bryant was shot at 4:45 pm.
Another call was made by a different woman minutes later but the person says the police are already arriving and hangs up.
Bryant's family told WBNS-TV that Bryant was the one who called the police for help, saying people were fighting outside her house.
Speaking to 10TV through tears, Paula Bryant said her daughter had called the police for protection and did not expect to be shot dead.
'This never should have happened,' she said. 'She's a loving girl.'
When asked Wednesday if the first 911 call was made by Bryant, Police Chief Woods said 'we do not know that' and that investigators are 'interviewing all the witnesses to determine who made those phone calls.'
He said no other 911 calls were made over the incident besides the two released Wednesday.
Police released three body camera recordings of the incident.
In one of the horrifying videos, a girl who Bryant allegedly tried to stab is seen getting off the ground as gun shots go off.
'I didn't do anything! She was trying to stab me!' the girl is heard screaming as other officers walked over to Bryant.
The officer directs witnesses into police cruisers.
Questions continue to mount over the shooting and the events leading up to it, as cops released a 911 call Wednesday thought to have been made by the 16-year-old minutes before she died, in which she asks the dispatcher to send a police officer 'now'
A second video from a responding officer showed him preparing to render aid to Bryant who was sprawled out on the cement.
As the officer tried to help Bryant, she is heard gasping for breath.
The officer is seen trying to find the entry wounds of the bullets as Bryant lies on the ground in a pool of blood.
A third video shows the view from Reardon's body camera. He's seen arriving on the scene of the fight at 4.44pm on Tuesday, and encountering several people fighting outside.
One of them, Bryant, is seen in the video swinging a knife at a young woman in shorts, who falls to the ground.
A slowed-down version of the video shows Bryant then turning her attention toward another woman in a neon tracksuit and pinning her against a parked car.
Officer Reardon pulls out his gun and repeatedly shouts: 'Get down! Get down!'
As Bryant raises her right hand clutching the knife and directs it at the woman in the tracksuit, who cowers to defend herself from the blow, Reardon fires four shots and Bryant collapses to the ground.
'You shot my baby!' a man cries out.
More than 100 protesters took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night to demonstrate against the police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant
Protesters marched on the streets with signs reading 'say their names' and 'Black Lives Matter' as they joined hundreds in the demonstrations
Demonstrators take part in a protest in downtown Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night
Faced with growing outrage from witnesses, Reardon says: 'She had a knife. She just went at her.'
The man who called Bryant his 'baby' screams at the cop: 'She's a f**king kid, man. Are you stupid?'
Bryant was later rushed to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where she died from her injuries.
'We know based on this footage the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community,' Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told reporters during Wednesday's press conference.
Police initially released portions of Reardon's body camera video within hours of the shooting in an attempt to ease tensions as Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at the scene.
Authorities said they responded to a stabbing call at around 4.30pm. The shots fired call was made just 15 minutes later.
A witness said Bryant got into an altercation with another resident of the home and was armed with the knife to defend herself when police arrived.
Bryant died at 5.21pm, less than an hour after police were summoned to the scene.
The shooting happened about 25 minutes before a judge read the verdict convicting former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the killing of Floyd.
Bryant's shooting took place just months after another Columbus police officer shot dead Andre Hill in December
Many politicians and public figures have condemned her killing.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Joe Biden had been briefed on the incident and said that Bryant's death shows police violence 'disproportionately impacts black and Latino people'
'The killing of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant by the Columbus police is tragic,' the White House press secretary said. 'She was a child.'
'We're thinking of her friends and family in the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss,' Psaki continued.
'We know that police violence disproportionately impacts black and Latino people in communities and that black women and girls, like black men and boys experience higher rates of police violence,' she added.
Psaki noted that Bryant's death came at a time when 'America was hopeful of a step forward after the traumatic and exhausting trial of Derek Chauvin and the verdict that was reached,' Psaki said.
'So our focus is on working to address systemic racism and implicit bias head on and, of course to passing laws and legislation that will put much needed reforms into place in police departments around the country,' the press secretary added.
It also took place less than five miles from where the funeral for Andre Hill, who was killed by another Columbus police officer in December, was held earlier this year.
The officer in Hill's case, Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, is now facing trial for murder, with the next hearing scheduled for April 28.
Less than three weeks before Hill was killed, a Franklin County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr in Columbus. The case remains under federal investigation.
Last week, Columbus police shot and killed a man who was in a hospital emergency room with a gun on him. Officials are continuing an investigation into that shooting.
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