Moments after the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, news of Colombus police officers fatally shooting a 16-year-old black girl emerged, focusing renewed attention on police-related deaths.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Columbus police officer shot and killed Makhia Bryant as she lunged at two people with a knife, as seen in body cam footage of the deadly encounter.
While releasing the video footage of Tuesday's shooting at a press conference, interim Columbus police chief, Michael Woods, said officers involved in the incident were responding to reports of an attempted stabbing at a home in the city's southeast side. However, the Bryant family said the teen had called the police for help when a group of "older kids" threatened her with assault.
In the video, an officer can be seen arriving to a chaotic scene involving several people on the front lawn of house, with Bryant attacking another female, who falls to the ground, before lunging towards a second woman near a vehicle with a knife in her hand when the officer fires multiple shots, striking her. The teenager was later rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The shooting is currently under investigation and the officer's identity has not been released.
Columbus Police Officers Yell 'Blue Lives Matter' at Scene of Shooting
While the Bryant family mourned the loss of their daughter, three white police officers gathered at the scene of the shooting were heard yelling "Blue Lives Matter," sparking outrage on social media.
In the clip, the officers can be heard standing on the other side of the crime scene tape and shouting "Blue Lives Matter" when a Black man confronts them and says it was an "insult" to chant the slogan just a few feet away from where a young girl was shot by a Columbus police officer.
"Boy, shut the f*ck up, because blue lives don't matter right now. I don't want to hear none of that dumb sh*t. This 15-year-old just got killed and you're telling me blue lives matter. He shot her because she had a knife," a woman behind the camera says. Watch the clip below:
Reactions on Twitter
The video has now incited some strong responses on Twitter with users slamming the officers for chanting slogans of the pro-police movement after fatally shooting a black girl dead who called for help.
"The officers chanting blue lives matter at traumatized Black victims should be suspended. Their disrespect is disgusting. They stain Columbus. How do they sleep at night? Shooting point blank at a 15 yr old girl. The Chauvin verdict is the beginning of a national movement," wrote one user.
"There isn't a lower low. A white cop shoots a teenager who called for help. She has a knife to defend herself in a fight. She gets shot four times. She is dead. And still, white cops spew hate and racism. We can't fix this. We have to completely dismantle it. NO OTHER OPTIONS," commented another.
