The Democratic mayor and city attorney of Columbus, Ohio, have asked the Department of Justice to investigate their city’s police department following the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant last week.
Mayor Andrew Ginther and City Attorney Zach Klein made the request after Bryant was shot and killed on April 20 by police officer Nicholas Reardon, who responded to the scene of a fight in which Bryant drew a knife on another person.
“This is not about one particular officer, policy, or incident; rather, this is about reforming the entire institution of policing in Columbus,” Ginther and Klein 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.”
Bryant, a foster child, was shot after she lunged at a female individual in pink with a large blade, as seen in body camera footage released by police. The 16-year-old was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. An investigation is being conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The two Columbus officials added that a DOJ investigation was necessary because “the City has been met with fierce opposition from leadership within the Columbus Division of Police.”
Ginther continued making his case on Thursday, writing in a tweet, “We have made steadfast efforts to advance reform in the Division of Police through policy changes and collective bargaining and, in a few weeks, new leadership.”
We have made steadfast efforts to advance reform in the Division of Police through policy changes and collective bargaining and, in a few weeks, new leadership. https://t.co/HAYaN821Zp
— Mayor Andrew Ginther (@MayorGinther) April 29, 2021
“But it has become clear that we will not be able to effect the rapid, significant and sustainable change we all desire without different tools,” Ginther added.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Monday a Justice Department investigation into the police department in Louisville, Kentucky, where 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was killed by police on March 13, 2020.
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On April 21, Garland also announced that the department would look into “whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.” Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd the day prior.
