Thoughts on the Police Shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio UPDATE

Before today's guilty verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, Anthony V. Clark tweeted, "Derek Chauvin is a symptom. He can be found guilty & another Black person will be killed next week by a cop."

To which I replied, "Perhaps even later today."

It would be even sooner than that. In Columbus, Ohio this afternoon shortly before the verdict was announced, a police officer shot and killed 16-year old Ma'Khia Bryant (some accounts describe her as 15). The deceased teenager is alleged to have been armed with a knife although her aunt indicated that she had dropped the knife prior to being shot.

At this point, we don't definitively know the facts of this case although the presence of a knife could complicate matters. Yet even if Bryant had been armed with a knife when police arrived on the scene it is unclear what threat she posed to the officer or to anyone else.

Regardless of the circumstances, given Bryant's race and tender age, this will not inspire the confidence of the African-American community in the police notwithstanding whatever measure of justice the family of George Floyd received today in Minneapolis.

UPDATE: Bodycam footage of the events which led up to the shooting lead one to wonder why the officer didn't try to de-escalate the situation or think to use a taser or pepper spray if physical intervention was warranted.