As Twitchy reported a couple of days ago, the police officer who shot 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant as she was charging another girl with a knife was (finally) cleared of any wrongdoing, even though at the time he was immediately convicted in the court of public opinion; LeBron James famously posted a photo of the officer to Twitter with the text, “YOU’RE NEXT,” an hourglass emoji, and the hashtag #Accountability.
No one seemed to give a thought to the black teen who was about to get stabbed. Still photos from the officer’s body cam clearly show Bryant getting ready to drive a knife into the other girl. But some people, even now, think that the officer should have handled the situation differently. People like “The View’s” Joy Behar, who argued that the cop should have fired a warning shot into the air. At a press conference, reportrs asked why police couldn’t be trained to shoot violent people in the leg. This advice came straight from the top: presidential candidate Joe Biden said he wanted police to shoot an “unarmed person coming at ’em with a knife” in the leg, a sentiment he repeated during an ABC News town hall.
Law professor Jonathan Turley writes about it on his blog:
“The View” co-host Joy Behar insisted that, when the officer saw Bryant moving to stab another girl, he should have shot in the air. The grand jury clearly disagreed and refused to indict officer, Nicholas Reardon. https://t.co/FAyriNlDev
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 14, 2022
Turley writes:
We previously discussed the shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, in Columbus, Ohio. I wrote earlier that I believed that the shooting was justified under departmental rules and legal precedent. Nevertheless, the shooting of the teenager was decried as murder in the media. “The View” co-host Joy Behar insisted that, when the officer saw Bryant moving to stab another girl, he should have shot in the air. The grand jury clearly disagreed and refused to indict Officer Nicholas Reardon.
At the time of the shooting, various media outlets like NPR posted misleading accounts of the shooting, which fueled anger in the city. (NPR later corrected its original account):
The Daily Beast also ran misleading coverage, including a quote from “local Columbus activist K.C. Taynor of Exodus Nation” that “the latest police killing made it impossible to celebrate the Chauvin verdict. It’s another murder. They’re animals. They treat us like animals.”
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Turley adds that Biden’s contention that “instead of anybody coming at you and the first thing you do is shoot to kill, you shoot them in the leg” — is not exactly how it works, practically or legally.
It also assumes a shot to the leg wouldn’t be lethal.
Shocker. She’s usually right on with these things.
— E (@gtfountain) March 14, 2022
If someone is ever charging Joy with a knife maybe the officer will try that trick.
— Jeff (@JeffMullinax2) March 14, 2022
I wonder if @JoyBehar would be so easy with the advice if it was her daughter?!
— PapaBudnippin (@Budnippin711) March 14, 2022
Hard to believe that this is even debatable
— DobyRaider Slava Ukraine God Bless the Ukraine (@Doby53823659) March 14, 2022
Does Joy Behar think bullets magically disappear when they’re shot in the air?
— Locker Room Talk (@LockrRoomTalk) March 14, 2022
Yea shoot in the air because gravity doesn’t matter
— By-Tor & The Snowdog (@IncarceratedOt1) March 14, 2022
No one who knows jack about a firearm is going to discharge a round into the sky over a populated area! Seriously?
— Josh (@JozsuefromUS) March 14, 2022
I feel sorry for the girl whom Bryant tried to kill. In all the coverage and commentary of this story, I’ve not seen one person say “Thank God that officer saved her life”. Her life is just background scenery to people trying to score agenda points.
— Jason Enyart (@jenyart) March 14, 2022
It shouldn't have even been presented to a grand jury. The media has lost its everloving mind, and prosecutors shouldn't genuflect every time the media cries foul.
— Matticus Ray (@Mattes55) March 14, 2022
Who knows what effect the shooting had on the officer? He has to live with killing a teenager and being vilified for it.
Related:
Fraternal Order of Police slams Joy Behar for suggesting police shoot a warning shot into the air https://t.co/SHwQ3ObQP8
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 22, 2021
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