Cop Won't Be Charged in Fatal Teen Shooting That Shocked Black Communities

The fatal shooting of a teenage girl that galvanized Black communities in Columbus, Ohio, has not brought criminal charges against the city police officer involved in the incident, as a grand jury returned a "no bill," finding no probable cause for a crime.

Ma'Khia Bryant, 16, who lived in foster care on the east side of the city, was shot dead by Nicholas Reardon, an officer with the Columbus Police Department (CPD), in April 2021. Reardon was responding to a domestic dispute call when the shooting occurred, according to the Franklin County Prosecutor's office.

Body camera footage from Reardon appeared to show Bryant lunging at another woman with a knife as the skirmish unfolded. Reardon, who was the first officer to arrive on the scene, shot at Bryant four times. The officer can be seen performing CPR on Bryant, but she did not survive.

After reviewing the evidence, the grand jury decided on Friday to not charge Reardon in Bryant's death.

Bryant's death caused widespread protests and condemnation in many of Columbus' Black neighborhoods. The heightened racial tensions were compounded by her death occurring just 30 minutes before ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the killing of George Floyd, according to WBNS-TV.

The shooting was lambasted across Ohio, including from Democratic Ohio Representative Joyce Beatty. The congresswoman released a statement in April 2021 following Bryant's death, saying that she was at at "a total loss of words" over the shooting.

Franklin County ruled Bryant's death a homicide that August, according to the county coroner's office.

That homicide ruling, along with the other evidence presented, was not enough for the grand jury to hand down an indictment against Reardon.

While the CPD has not released an independent statement on the ruling, the Columbus Department of Public Safety said in a press release, "We thank the independent investigators of Ohio BCI [Bureau of Criminal Investigation] for their diligence on this case."

"The next step in this process is an administrative investigation to determine whether the officer's actions were within Division policy," the statement said.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost published the investigative files related to the case following the decision. In an accompanying statement, Yost said: "I've asked for patience while promising transparency, and now is the appropriate time for that work to be made public."

Despite these files being made public, scrutiny regarding the grand jury's decision was spreading across social media on Friday.

In response to the attorney general's statement, one Twitter user said: "Sounds about white. If I remember, Reardon said, 'Blue Lives Matter.' What a disappointment for sweet Ma'Khia Bryant."

"Heartbreaking case and I'm sure this is no comfort to her family," another user said.

One other user noted that, while Bryant appeared to be holding a knife when she was killed, other victims of police shootings had not been armed when they were shot. The user then mentioned the cases of Casey Goodson Jr. and Andre Hill, who were both killed in officer-related shootings in Ohio.

While the grand jury decision has been rendered, the city is investigating whether Reardon violated policy and the officer could still face internal punishment.

A study from The Washington Post showed that Franklin County, Ohio, has one of the highest rates of fatal police shootings within the state and the nation.

Newsweek has reached out to the CPD and Representative Beatty's office for comment.