State Watch

Columbus police chief grilled on training process after fatal shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant

by Aris Folley

Interim Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods was pressed Wednesday on the police training process for officers about when an officer should use deadly force after the recent police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant.
 
Woods was asked by reporters about policy on deadly force and when officers should resort to using their service weapon when responding to calls in the wake of the fatal shooting the day before.
 
When asked when and to what degree an officer should use a taser instead of his or her service weapon, Woods said that when officers “are faced with someone, employing deadly force can be the response the officer gives.”  

“Again, if there’s not deadly force being perpetrated on someone else at that time, an officer may have the opportunity to have cover distance and time to use a taser,” Woods said. “But if those things aren’t present, and there is an active assault going on in which someone could lose their life, the officer can use their firearm to protect that third person.” 

Woods was also pressed about whether officers are trained to shoot someone in an area that would not result in death, such as in the leg. Woods called that a “small target” that could result in a person becoming more agitated and endangering the officer.

“We are trained to shoot center mass, what is available to stop the threat,” he said. “We try and minimize any danger to anyone else, if we have to use our firearm,” he continued.

The response comes as the Columbus Division of Police faces widespread public backlash that is raising questions about when an officer should be allowed to use deadly force instead of other options like a taser following the shooting.

Bryant was fatally shot by an officer Tuesday after the teenager, who is Black, was recorded holding a knife while charging at another girl, according to The Associated Press. 

The incident comes months after the fatal police shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man from Columbus that had been unarmed at the time he died, amid rising tensions in the nation over the police treatment of Black Americans. 

The shooting of Bryant occurred shortly before a verdict in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin was announced finding the former Minneapolis police officer guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in the killing of George Floyd, whose death sparked months of protests across the nation last year.

Woods called the recent shooting in Columbus a “tragedy.”

“There’s, there’s no other way to say it. It’s a 16-year-old girl. I’m a father, her family is grieving. Regardless of the circumstances associated with this, a 16-year-old girl lost her life and I sure as hell wish it hadn’t happened,” Woods said. 

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) will be handling a probe into the shooting.

“The Columbus Division of Police will assist them but we will not interfere in any investigative process that they have,” Woods said. “Our role is to provide them the information that they request, and do so in a timely manner. We will not interfere, we will not provide input. We will allow them to conduct their investigation.” 

Once the investigation is concluded, Woods said the findings will be sent the Franklin County prosecutor’s office and presented to a grand jury. 

“We will review that incident for policy compliance or violations,” he added.