On Tuesday, a 16-year-old teen was fatally shot by the police in Columbus, Ohio. The shooting incident was termed as a tragic issue that raised a massive public outcry. However, according to Donavon Brinson, the man who recorded the footage, declared that the police officer “reacted with what he thought was his best judgment.”
In an interview with The Faulkner Focus, Brinson said that he didn’t see the shooting unfold himself, but watched the entire scene through his home surveillance cameras. He reiterated that the officer had to make a spontaneous decision and “he did what he thought was best”, considering he only had a few seconds to make the call.
The 16-year-old was later identified as Ma’Khia Bryant, a foster child under the supervision of her mother, Paula Bryant. In an exclusive talk with 10TV, a teary-eyed Paula stated how the Ohio shooting was a tragedy that should never have happened. She also went on to say that Ma Khia Bryant was a “loving girl” who did not deserve to be shot out in the street.
The Ohio shooting had initially begun when a young girl had pushed another down, all the while carrying a knife in her hand. The video footage shows the girl pointing her knife at the female on the ground, at which point the officer fired at her. As put forward by Brinson, the officer in charge didn’t have many options to pursue; he did what he thought was best for the community.
Brinson also tried to think of other potential approaches that the officer could have gone for: He could have not shot Bryant and let her stab the other female which would have resulted in firing at both of them or he could have done what he did where “one lady lost her life in the incident that probably could have been avoided”, said Brinson.
Besides, Brinson also gave significant preliminary information concerning the Ohio shooting. He narrated the entire scene where he and his wife were heading back home when they saw the two ladies quarreling outside. He didn’t pay much attention to the heated argument that he thought would resolve on its own. However, he did note that they were “very, very loud”, possibly extremely agonized about something.
As it happened, the incident didn’t resolve on its own until he heard gunshots about five minutes later. In his statement, Brinson mentioned how he looked out from his house window and saw Bryant gone on the ground, while everyone around her grappled with what had just happened.
At present, the Ohio shooting is being looked into by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The officer who shot Bryant has been identified as Nicholas Reardon, a man who had been a part of the police force for the last 16 months.
