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Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation has referred its investigation into the police-involved death of 16-year-old Columbus girl Ma’Khia Bryant to the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, according to Attorney General Dave Yost.
It’s still unclear whether the officer involved will face any charges.
Bryant was shot and killed by Columbus Police Officer Nicholas Reardon on April 20.
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He had been called to the scene to an argument between Bryant and two young adult women at her foster home ahead of what was supposed to be a birthday party for her foster mother, Angela Moore.
Bodycam video shows Reardon arriving at the scene and encountering Bryant swinging a knife and bowling over one woman, identified later as Shai-Onta Lana Craig-Watkins, 20, before lunging with the weapon toward Tionna Bonner, 22, pinning her against a car. (Columbus Police Department)
Bodycam video shows Reardon arriving at the scene and encountering Bryant swinging a knife and bowling over one woman, identified later as Shai-Onta Lana Craig-Watkins, 20, before lunging with the weapon toward Tionna Bonner, 22, pinning her against a car.
Reardon, a White officer, rolled up to the chaotic scene and asked "What’s going on?" just before the teen began swinging.
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"Get down!" he shouted multiple times before firing four shots. Bryant fell to the ground, and other responding officers can be seen attempting first aid.
Use of force experts have said Reardon responded appropriately and may have saved the women’s lives, but critics countered that he should have used less-than-lethal force to stop the knife attack.
"The officer responded too aggressively, to say it mildly," Michelle Martin, an attorney for Bryant’s family, argued a week after the teen’s death. "You will continue to hear our voices. We cannot let this stand."
BCI investigations do not determine whether the use of force was justified – they gather evidence and turn it over to local prosecutors.
"After the investigation is completed, the investigative report is provided to the prosecutor’s office and, with the prosecutor’s approval, to the requesting agency," the bureau said in a statement. "Those entities may then use the investigation to determine the appropriateness of the officer’s actions."
Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Gary Tyack has assigned the case to special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary S. Shroyer due to a conflict of interest.
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Merkle said he had received and begun to review the referral but did not immediately have a comment.
Tyack’s office said in a statement that it did not immediately have a timeline for when the matter could be presented to a grand jury.
Bryant’s death happened just minutes before a jury announced a guilty verdict against ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther has also asked the Justice Department to conduct its own review of Columbus police and recommend potential reform measures.
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