CNN's Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo actually defend officer who fatally shot teen girl who swung knife at other females



CNN's Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night appeared to defend the officer who fatally shot a teenage girl caught on police bodycam video swinging a knife at other females during a fight in front of a Columbus, Ohio, residence the previous day.

Teen girl swung knife at two people before police fatally shot her, bodycam video shows https://t.co/dL8bnDiGdM
— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze)1619015433.0

What did Lemon and Cuomo have to say?

TheBlaze regularly takes to task Lemon and Cuomo for radical, leftist commentary they add to the news, but in this instance the pair delivered fair-minded, sober perspectives on the tragic incident, which took place just before the verdict was read in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.

As Cuomo was signing off his program and passing the baton to Lemon, the pair began talking about the shooting. Lemon noted there was a "lot of emotion" and "lot of anguish" about it, but he pivoted and said, "We've got to be fair about what happens when police arrive at scenes."

He explained that despite the fact that the victim was an adolescent, "when police are chasing people, they don't know how old they are."

"When they roll up on a scene, they see people tussling around, someone has a knife, and their job is to protect and serve every life on that scene," Lemon continued. "And if they see someone who is in the process of taking a life ... what decision do they have to make?"

They both also countered arguments many have made asserting that the officer could have used a Taser instead of a gun in that situation.

"Tasers don't work the way guns work," Lemon offered.

"Not at that distance," Cuomo noted in agreement. "And not with that amount of time."

Lemon reminded viewers that Tasters "don't always connect" — the prongs have to grab the skin correctly in order for the electrical charge to effectively disable a suspect.

'That's why I'm not a police officer'

Then Lemon invoked the female who nearly became a victim: "If the woman in the pink was my sister, niece, wife, whatever … you have to make a decision. Is one life on that scene more valuable than another? And if someone is trying to take a life on that scene, do you protect the life of the person trying to take the life, or do you protect the life of the person whose life is in imminent danger at that point? That's why I'm not a police officer."

He also observed that "at a certain distance, a stabbing, a knife can be much more lethal than a bullet. And especially if you get stabbed in the artery, in the temple, somewhere that you're gonna bleed out."

Cuomo said, "I feel for that officer. You can hear it in his voice when ... the man on the side was saying, 'You shot my baby! You shot my baby!' And [the officer] said, 'She had a knife, she went right at her.' You know this is something that he's gonna have to live with also."

Lemon added, "Either way in that position, I think that someone's life probably would have ended. It could have been the other woman in the pink, or it could've been the 16-year-old who sadly ended up dying."

Cuomo said he had spoken to "an older woman of color" about the shooting and that a man told the officer, "You shot my baby" — and the woman told Cuomo, "Shame on him!"

'Where were the parents? What were they doing?'

When Cuomo questioned why the woman had that reaction, he said she told him, "He came running out of that house; why didn't he stop it? Where were the parents? What were they doing? .. why did the police have to come and control that situation? Why didn't he?"

Cuomo also observed that the man who ran out of the house is seen on bodycam video trying to kick a female in the head: "He's an active part of the fight; the adults have to be adults, too."

He also said that, in the end, the officer has a "duty to use force to protect his own life or the life of another."

Don Lemon And Chris Cuomo Defend The Officer Who Shot Ma'Khia Bryantyoutu.be

Anything else?

Lemon and Cuomo stand out from others on the left who remain upset about the shooting, despite the fact that it's clearly visible that the teen girl was swinging a knife.

Such as NBA superstar LeBron James, who posted a tweet to his 50 million followers threatening the Columbus police officer who pulled the trigger, posting an image allegedly of the officer and adding the text, "YOU'RE NEXT."

In addition, numerous media outlets even tried to hide the fact that the teen was swinging a knife when she was shot, outrageously jumping at the chance to refer to her as "unarmed."

And as for those who just want to defund police and keep them away from all those commonplace knife fights between kids, the day before the Columbus incident a 13-year-old girl reportedly stabbed another 13-year-old to death in Cincinnati — and cops were nowhere in sight.

Teen girl swung knife at two people before police fatally shot her, bodycam video shows



Police bodycam video shows that a teenage girl fatally shot by an officer Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio, swung a knife at two people before the shooting, the Associated Press reported.

What are the details?

The outlet said the the 10-second clip begins with an officer exiting his vehicle at a house where police had been dispatched after someone called 911 about being physically threatened, according to interim Police Chief Michael Woods.

The officer moves toward a group of people in the driveway when a black girl starts swinging a knife at another female who falls backward, the AP said, adding that the officer shouts several times to get down.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The girl with the knife then charges at another female who's pinned against a car, the outlet said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Then the officer fires four shots, and the teen slumps to the ground, the outlet said, adding that a black-handled blade similar to a kitchen knife or steak knife lies on the ground next to her.

A man yells at the officer that he didn't have to shoot the girl, and the officer is heard saying, "She had a knife. She just went at her," the AP said.

The outlet said the girl was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said, adding that it remains unclear whether anyone else was injured.

Police did not identify the girl or her age Tuesday, the AP said, adding that one family member said she was 15, while another said she was 16.

Fast release of bodycam video

Police showed part of the video Tuesday night just hours after incident, an unusual decision for the department, the outlet said, as it contends with public outcry over police-involved shootings. What's more, the incident took place just minutes before the Derek Chauvin verdict was read, the outlet said.

Interim Chief of Police Michael Woods told WCMH-TV the quick release of the bodycam video is an effort to be transparent with the public. He added that state law allows police to use deadly force to protect themselves or others, and investigators will determine if that force was justified in this instance, the AP said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Protest takes place

After the shooting, hundreds of protesters pushed past barriers outside police headquarters and approached officers as city officials were showing the bodycam video inside, the AP said, adding that many chanted, "Say her name!" and yelled that "she was just a kid!"

Officers with bicycles pushed protesters back and threatened to use pepper spray on the crowd, the outlet added.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther defended the officer's use of deadly force, the AP said: "We know based on this footage the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community."

Columbus Police release body cam footage of officer shooting, killing girl, 16youtu.be

Family of teen girl with knife tells different story

The family of the teen girl with the knife, Ma'Khia Bryant, reportedly said she was trying to defend herself from women who confronted her and that she was the one who called police, the Daily Beast said.

"She was a good kid. She was loving," Hazel Bryant, who said Ma'Khia was her niece, told reporters, the outlet noted. "She was 15 years old. She didn't deserve to die like a dog in the street."

Bryant said Ma'Khia had been living in a foster home and that several adult women came to the home and began an altercation with her, after which Ma'Khia called police for help, as well as her biological father and grandmother, the Daily Beast said. Ma'Khia grabbed a knife to defend herself, Bryant also said, according to the outlet.

Bryant — who said the grandmother and father told her what happened — noted that Ma'Khia was in front of the house fending off a physical attack when police arrived, the Daily Beast said, and the police shot her without any warning.

"The police are going to lie. I'm so thankful that someone from the family was actually on the scene," Bryant said before the release of the bodycam video, the outlet noted. "The police are going to lie. The police are going to cover up for themselves. They don't care. At this point, I feel like they're just out to kill black people. They're not here to protect and serve. That isn't happening. That's been over a long time ago. They're not here to protect and serve. They're here to kill black folks."

Ma'Khia's mother, Paula Bryant, told WBNS that her daughter "was a very loving, peaceful little girl ... She was an honor-roll student, and Ma'Khia had a motherly nature about her. She promoted peace. And that's something that I want to always be remembered."

“Ma’Khia had a motherly nature about her. She promoted peace,” said the 16 year-old girl’s mother, Paula. https://t.co/vhBauZn3Kc
— Lacey Crisp (@Lacey Crisp)1618968027.0