Here Are Three Important Things The Media Won’t Tell You About The Ma’Khia Bryant Case

Conservative News DailyApril 21, 2021

Minutes before a jury announced their guilty verdict in the George Floyd trial, social media erupted 0ver the death of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant.

According to WBNS-TV, officers in Columbus, Ohio received a 911 call from a distressed individual saying multiple women were attempting to stab her. Bodycam footage from the incident showed officers arriving to find Bryant wielding a knife at two girls, at which point the responding officer stepped in and fired his service weapon as she appeared to be attempting to stab one of the victims.

“She came at her with a knife,” an officer can be heard saying in the video.

Bryant was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead.

Once news of the incident broke, the media, along with celebrities and the Black Lives Matter movement rushed to paint a picture of yet another unjust police shooting, downplaying or ignoring key details in an attempt to further their desired narrative.

Here are three things they’re refusing to mention about the case.

1. Bryant was wielding a knife

The bodycam footage shows a knife in Bryant’s right hand and two girls running away from her.

Slow motion body cam footage from the officer involved shooting of #MakhiaBryant in Ohio. This is a chaotic scene but this officer saved the life of the girl that Makhia was about to stab. pic.twitter.com/dZB4HpfNF4

— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) April 21, 2021

Screengrab from the Columbus bodycam video. Police & the mayor say the girl in black was attempting to stab the girl in pink. Officer shot the girl in black just after this.https://t.co/zrTpAPHH8B pic.twitter.com/FEnpFZwoOy

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) April 21, 2021

2. The rush to judgment was based on one reporter’s cherry-picked facts

WBNS reporter Lacey Crisp broke the story on Twitter and provided updates about BLM’s response. Crisp spoke with Ma’Khia’s mother, Paula Bryant, who said Columbus Police shot and killed her daughter.

In the interview, Paula Bryant characterized her daughter as someone who was “peaceful.”

“She was a very loving, peaceful little girl. She was 16-years-old. She was an honor roll student,” Paula Bryant said. “Ma’Khia had a motherly nature about her. She promoted peace. And that’s something that I want to always be remembered.

Paula Bryant tells me her 16 year-old daughter Ma’Khia Bryant was an honor roll student and a sweet child. Ma’Khia was shot and killed by a @ColumbusPolice on Legion Lane at 4:30p today. pic.twitter.com/0FfbQVEgSD

— Lacey Crisp (@LaceyCrisp) April 21, 2021

“Ma’Khia had a motherly nature about her. She promoted peace,” said the 16 year-old girl’s mother, Paula. pic.twitter.com/vhBauZn3Kc

— Lacey Crisp (@LaceyCrisp) April 21, 2021

Even though WBNS’ original coverage didn’t mention the knife, the story on the website was updated after a press conference with the police chief late Tuesday night. The story now reflects that prominent piece of the puzzle.

“According to Interim Chief Michael Woods, a caller reported females were trying to stab them. A dispatcher tried to obtain more information but was unable to before the call was disconnected,” the article reads. “The footage released by police came from the first officer on the scene. In the video, the teen appears to attempt to stab two people with a knife before the officer fires his weapon.”

Not once on Crisp’s Twitter account does she mention a knife, let alone that Bryant was attempting to stab multiple people.

Family tells us the person who was fatally shot by @ColumbusPolice was 15 year-old Makiah Bryant. They say she called cops for help because girls were fighting outside her house. pic.twitter.com/g2eayG2MHW

— Lacey Crisp (@LaceyCrisp) April 20, 2021

Paula Bryant’s 16-year-old daughter, Ma’Khia was fatally shot by a Columbus police officer on the city’s southeast side on Tuesday. https://t.co/PnEVzoMzpl

— Lacey Crisp (@LaceyCrisp) April 21, 2021

Leaving out this vital piece of information meant Twitter, national reporters, and activists assumed the officer shot an innocent child for no reason.

Twitter description of the event still doesn’t include any mention of the knife:

Paula Bryant told reporters at the scene of the incident that her daughter, 16-year-old Makhia Bryant, was shot and killed by an officer in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon. Columbus Police have since released body-cam footage from the officer who fired his gun, who has been “taken off the street” while the criminal investigation is ongoing. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said based on the footage “the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community”. Protesters have gathered on Legion Lane where the shooting took place and outside Columbus Police Headquarters.

3. The media follows the narrative set by Black Lives Matter

Attorney Ben Crump, who has represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin, took to Twitter to claim Bryant was “unarmed.”

As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as @ColumbusPolice killed an unarmed 15yo Black girl named Makiyah Bryant. Another child lost! Another hashtag. ✊🏾🙏🏾#JusticeForMakiyahBryant https://t.co/9ssR5gfqm5

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) April 21, 2021

The New York Times decided to quote Crump, but they omitted the line about Bryant being unarmed, The Washington Examiner reported.

“‘As we breathe a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another policy shooting’ Mr. Crump said. ‘Another child lost! Another hashtag,’” the NYT wrote.

The Daily Beast’s article stated Bryant “had already dropped the knife in the yard. But police shot her four times without any warning.” The statement was based on an account Bryant’s grandparents provided, even though it ran counter to what the bodycam footage showed.

Media vs bodycam pic.twitter.com/IYtlQELyhq

— Peace Promoter Poso (@JackPosobiec) April 21, 2021

Users on social media continue to share TikTok videos of Bryant dancing and doing her hair in an attempt to bring even more emotion into an already emotionally charged situation. The nation was on edge with the Chauvin verdict and the timing of this incident added fuel to that fire.

This case, like so many before it, needs to be looked at with a clear head and all the facts presented. Nuance matters, especially when the suspect is a threat to others.

Beth Baumann is a Political Reporter and Editor at The Daily Wire. Follow her on Twitter @eb454.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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