On Wednesday (April 21), Columbus, Ohio officials released the name of the officer who fatally shot 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant the day prior.
Nicholas Reardon is the officer, officials said, who arrived on the scene on Tuesday afternoon (April 20) and fired multiple shots at the teen, killing her. Reardon joined the Columbus Police Department in 2019 and is currently on leave, authorities said during a press conference on Wednesday (April 21).
Additional footage of Ma’Khia’s killing was also released during the press conference along with tapes of the 911 call. The city’s Public Safety Director Ned Pettus asked the community for patience as investigations are conducted.
“I understand the outrage and emotion around this incident,” Pettus said, per a report by USA Today. “A teenage girl is dead, and she’s dead at the hands of a police officer. Under any circumstances, that is a horrendous tragedy.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations is conducting an independent investigation into the fatal incident, which the White House called “tragic.”
“She was a child,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. “We’re thinking of her friends and family in the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss. 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. We also know that there are particular vulnerabilities that children in foster care, like Ma’Khia, face.”
Ma’Khia’s family said the teen called the police for help.
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