Authorities in Columbus, Ohio, released a body camera footage of a police shooting that left a teenage girl dead minutes before the verdict was announced at the Derek Chauvin trial Tuesday in Minneapolis.
The video of the incident shows an officer approaching a driveway where a group of young people are standing. Among them was Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, who apparently pushed or swung at a person and fell to the ground, reports the Columbus Dispatch.
According to the newspaper, Bryant appears to be swinging a knife at another girl who is on the hood of a car, and an officer shoots their weapon four times and strikes Bryant, who later dies from her injuries.
Mayor Andrew Ginther (D) said Tuesday night the body camera footage was being reviewed and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation officials were at the scene.
“This afternoon, a young woman tragically lost her life. We do not know all the details. There is camera footage of the incident. We are working to review this as soon as possible. BCI is conducting an independent investigation at the scene … as they do with everyone else [Columbus Police Department]”Involved shooting,” Ginther said.
Franklin County Children’s Services confirmed Bryant’s identity at a news conference on Tuesday and said she was in foster care.
Police said they responded to the scene Tuesday afternoon on a report of an attempted knife.
Videos and photos taken near the shooting scene show protesters who gathered there Tuesday night.
“We can celebrate nothing,” protester KC Taynor said, referring to Chauvin’s verdict. “Finally you know what, you can not be black.”
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of the murder of George Floyd last summer. The case is widely seen as a referendum on police brutality and systemic racism in the criminal justice system.