The case of Ma’Khia Bryant, the 16-year-old girl fatally shot by police after lunging at another female with a knife, was sent to a prosecutor on Wednesday for review after it was looked over by Ohio‘s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Attorney General Dave Yost announced the development and said officials interviewed 15 civilian witnesses and three police officers in addition to engaging in a complete review of body camera footage, 911 calls, shell casings, and dispatch records.
The “legality of the actions” will now be determined by Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack, a grand jury, or both, according to the statement from Yost’s office.
Bryant was pronounced dead at a local hospital on April 20 after a Columbus officer shot her following an altercation between the teenager and another female. The 16-year-old can be seen in video footage lunging at another girl with a large blade before the policeman pulls the trigger.
COLUMBUS MAYOR ASKS DOJ TO INVESTIGATE CITY’S POLICE DEPARTMENT FOLLOWING SHOOTING OF MA’KHIA BRYANT
Michelle Martin, an attorney representing Bryant’s family, said the 16-year-old’s death warrants “further investigation.”
“It’s the family’s hope that this incident receives the further investigation that it deserves,” the lawyer said during a Wednesday news conference. “Ma’Khia’s life, as we all know, was taken for too soon, and we must do everything we can to make sure it’s not swept under the rug.”
Alongside Bryant’s case, the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of Andrew Teague was also referred to Tyack for review. Teague, 43, who had a warrant for felony assault, was killed during a confrontation with police on March 8 following a pursuit in which he drove down a highway on the wrong side of the road.
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Bryant’s shooting happened on the same day former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Days after the incident, Democratic Mayor Andrew Ginther and City Attorney Zach Klein requested the Justice Department to look into their police department.
“This is not about one particular officer, policy, or incident; rather, this is about reforming the entire institution of policing in Columbus,” the pair said in a letter dated April 27, addressed to Robert Chapman, the acting deputy director of the department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. “Simply put: We need to change the culture of the Columbus Division of Police.”
