Democrat Val Demings Defends Cop Who Shot Ma'Khia Bryant, Citing Experience as Police Officer
On 4/25/21 at 3:52 PM EDT
Representative Val Demings, a Florida Democrat, defended the cop who shot and killed Ma'Khia Bryant, a Black teenager, in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday—citing her own personal experience working as a police officer.
Bryant, who was 16 years old, was killed by officer Nicholas Reardon outside her home on Tuesday afternoon. Body camera footage released by police appear to show Bryant lunging at multiple individuals while holding a knife before she was fatally shot by Reardon. The officer fired his gun several times as Bryant struggled with another girl against a car.