Cops' life-and-death choices and consequences in another light: Officer fired for allegedly running from shooting that left sergeant dead



The topic on everyone's lips for most of this week has been the teenage girl fatally shot by police in Columbus, Ohio — and the bodycam video that showed her swinging a knife at other females prior to the trigger being pulled.

While experts said the officer acted appropriately — even CNN's Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo defended the cop, saying he likely saved lives with his quick reaction — angry leftists complained the shooting was not justified:

Cops' life-and-death choices in another light

Which brings us to a completely different life-and-death incident involving police and a suspect with a deadly weapon — and one that shows what can happen when cops allegedly do not engage the danger before them.

KPRC-TV reported that it obtained a termination letter Thursday indicating that a Houston police officer was fired after running away from a shooting that left a sergeant at the scene dead.

More from the station:

The letter signed by former Houston police Chief Art Acevedo reads Officer Vanessa Taylor was being indefinitely suspended for shirking her duty during the October 2020 shooting that killed Sgt. Harold Preston and for her handling of a domestic violence complaint that led up to the gunfire.

According to the letter, a review board determined that Taylor was in a tactically superior position to the shooter. According to the letter, video from her body-worn camera showed that she ran from the scene of the shooting instead of engaging the shooter when the gunshots started. She hid at the back of the complex and failed to assist her fellow officers who had been wounded by the shooting, according to the letter.

"While citizens run from threats to their safety, police officers are expected to engage a suspect who is using deadly force to harm citizens and other officers and to assist injured persons," Acevedo wrote, according to KPRC.

The letter also accused Taylor of failing to aid Preston and Officer Courtney Waller, despite Waller radioed that he had been hit and that Preston was down and unresponsive, the station said.

"After Officer Taylor discovered both Officer Waller and Sergeant Preston had been shot, Officer Taylor chose to stay where she was and wait for backup instead of engaging the threat or assisting either officer," Acevedo wrote, KPRC noted.

In addition, Taylor is accused of failing to radio information to backup officers responding to the scene and remaining on the area's perimeter instead of helping a rescue team, the station said.

"When backup officers arrived at the scene, they quickly formed an extrication team, and rescued Sergeant Preston from the side of [the suspect's] front door in order to provide CPR to him," Acevedo wrote, according to KPRC. "Officer Taylor did not assist the responding officers but instead stayed on the perimeter of the scene and watched the other officers respond."

New developments: HPD officer loses job after Sgt. killed youtu.be

The letter referred to the suspect as "Mr. E.M." — and the station said the initials stand for Elmer Manzano who's awaiting trial on capital murder, attempted capital murder, and aggravated assault charges in connection with the shooting

More from KPRC:

According to the letter, Taylor did not properly handle the domestic violence complaint at the center of the shooting incident. The letter stated that she and Waller failed to deem the victim as credible, even though her story was consistent and corroborated. That led the Harris County District Attorney's Office to decline charges of terroristic threat against Manzano.

Acevedo's letter noted Taylor was working at the police station where Manzano's estranged wife filed a domestic violence complaint three days prior to the death of Preston. Acevedo noted Taylor helped Mazano's estranged wife file that complaint.

"Throughout the course of this incident, Officer Taylor showed a severe lack of sound judgment," Acevedo wrote, according to the station.

Taylor is appealing her termination, KPRC reported, adding that state records show she had been with the department for five years.

The station added that Waller was suspended for 20 days and noted that sources indicated the disciplinary action was over his handling of an earlier domestic violence claim made by the complainant.

2 HPD officers facing disciplinary actions following the death of sergeant Harold Prestonyoutu.be

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.

Press Sec. Stuns Reporters, Blames Racism for Ma'Khia Bryant Death | DIRECT MESSAGE | Rubin Report

Press Sec. Stuns Reporters, Blames Racism for Ma'Khia Bryant Death | DIRECT MESSAGE | Rubin Report

Roundup: The media tried to hide the fact that the Columbus teen killed by police was swinging a knife when she was shot



On Tuesday, as a 12-person jury pronounced former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts for his role in George Floyd's death, another apparent tragedy took place in Columbus, Ohio — a 16-year-old girl was shot and killed by police.

The loose "facts" of the incident proved too juicy to fact-check for left-leaning media outlets eager to fuel outrage over alleged police brutality against black Americans. Countless media figures reported before the facts were out that police in Ohio had yet again shot and killed an unarmed black person.

"As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as Columbus Police killed an unarmed 15yo Black girl named [Ma'Khia] Bryant. Another child lost! Another hashtag," Benjamin Crump, the attorney for George Floyd's family, tweeted Tuesday night.

"There has been yet another police shooting of an unarmed 16 year old Black teen girl by police in #ColumbusOhio," CNN legal analyst Areva Martin added as a matter of fact.

Image Source: Twitter screenshot

But they were wrong.

Right around the same time that Martin posted her tweet, Columbus police released bodycam footage of the incident that clearly showed Bryant aggressively swinging a knife at another girl when she was shot by police. The officer, Nicholas Reardon, rather than being a bloodthirsty racist, appeared to be a hero.

Yet even with the new information, NPR couldn't get itself to admit the obvious. In one version of its report about the incident, the news outlet stated vaguely that before Bryant was shot, she was "seen swinging her arm toward another woman." No mention of the knife in her hand.

In an updated version of its report, NPR removed any mention of the knife in Bryant's hand or of her swinging anything at all.

It says, "[Bryant] then approaches a second girl and throws her against a car parked on the driveway. The officer shouts 'Get down!' three times, pulls out his gun and shoots in Bryant's direction at least four times and she falls to the ground. ... As the officer approaches her, a knife can be seen close to her."

Don't worry, though, NPR gave itself cover by including a ridiculous disclaimer in the report, which stated, "Some facts reported by the media may later turn out to be wrong."

Disclaimer from NPR on its article (which hasn't yet been updated with new information regarding the body cam video… https://t.co/7SyfgScfUy
— Shelby Talcott (@Shelby Talcott)1618981451.0

The Washington Post, in its report, quoted Bryant's aunt saying that her niece had a knife in hand but dropped it before she was shot by police. The Post amazingly mentions the bodycam footage but conveniently never makes clear in its reporting that video clearly showed the knife in Bryant's hand as she was shot. The outlet would rather that fact remain elusive, it seems.

@AGHamilton29 @allahpundit It's not just the headline: even though the knife is clearly visible in her hand, the ar… https://t.co/KWjzoo5WRN
— Jeryl Bier (@Jeryl Bier)1619016696.0

The Daily Beast was also dragged for its original reporting on the incident. The outlet also reported that Bryant had dropped the knife before being shot, using aunt Hazel as its primary source, and added without verification that Bryant was "fending off a physical assault when police arrived." The outlet has since updated its story numerous times.

The Daily Beast did an absolute masterclass in journalism on this one. The left screenshot is what they originally… https://t.co/O71dp7QZFF
— Greg Price (@Greg Price)1618979218.0

NBC Nightly News made the decision to deceptively edit out an important portion of the 911 call, in which the caller says, "These grown girls over here trying to fight us, trying to stab us, get here now!" In its video report, the outlet only played the portion where the caller shouts, "We need a police officer here now!"

In their report on the officer-involved shooting in Columbus, Ohio, NBC Nightly News deceptively edited the 911 cal… https://t.co/LeHNmOQc3B
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@Nicholas Fondacaro)1619050072.0

NBC also failed to stop and show the knife in Bryant's hand moments before she was shot. More complete audio of the 911 call can be heard here.

Though not nearly as egregious as the other reports, CNN's Wolf Blitzer attempted to cover the obvious facts of the case displayed in the bodycam footage with a cloud of uncertainty. In his report on the news, Blitzer alleged there are "growing questions" about the incident as it "appears" that Bryant has a knife and "seems" as if she is lunging at another girl before being shot.

CNN’s @wolfblitzer: “Growing questions” about police shooting in Columbus of a “16-year-old African-American” girl;… https://t.co/wsGlZzUd4Z
— Tom Elliott (@Tom Elliott)1619039314.0

Here's the bodycam footage, for reference.

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

Horowitz: Media coverage of Columbus shooting exposes their BLM agenda as a fraud



It's clear as day from the video footage that 16-year-old Columbus, Ohio, resident Ma'Khia Bryant was swinging a knife at another girl and that cops told her to put the knife down before shooting her. Yet the media are still stoking another Floyd mob outrage over this incident and is insinuating that she might not have had a knife. They don't care that police were saving a black victim of an attempted homicide. It is this mentality and media strategy that will continue to result in thousands of more homicide victims, mainly black.

The New York Times claims "officials said" Bryant had a knife rather than publishing the truth that "the video shows" she had a knife. Black Lives Matter is still on the attack and acting as if police murdered Bryant in cold blood. The AP tweeted, "Police shot and killed a teenage Black girl in Columbus, Ohio, just as the verdict was being announced in the trial for the killing of George Floyd. Bodycam footage appeared to show the girl attempting to stab two people with a knife."

This is where we are in America today. Any time police are forced to shoot a violent criminal who happens to be black, the expectation is that there is a right to riot. The nerve of police to defend victims on the declared George Floyd verdict day. They should have taken the day off, according to the AP! Well, it might come as a shock to those who live in gated neighborhoods, but violent criminals don't take a break for the Derek Chauvin trial.

Just consider how often police encounter violent criminals who happen to be black. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting, in 2019, there were 16,425 reported homicides (over 20,000 in 2020), 268,000 robberies, 821,000 aggravated assaults reported by police (many more unreported incidents, including over 4.8 million assaults, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics). There were also 1.1 million burglaries and nearly 7 million property crimes. Most of the latter categories are not considered violent, but many violent criminals commit those crimes and get violent when the police confront them.

Now consider the fact that roughly 51% of those arrested for murder, 53% of those arrested for robbery, 33% of those arrested for aggravated assault, 35% of those arrested for stolen property, and 42% of those arrested for weapons violations are black.

Among juveniles, the numbers are even starker. 62% of robbery arrests and 405 of aggravated assault arrests among those under 18 in 2019 were black.

That means there are millions of police encounters with violent criminals, especially juveniles, for committing serious crimes who happen to be black. If the media standard is now to report on every single case where the suspect is killed rather than focusing on the source of the problem —violent crime — there is simply no way the police can operate under anyone's construct of policing.

When you look at the number of criminals police deal with, their track record is actually pretty amazing. Police shootings have declined precipitately over the years. The problem is that the few bad circumstances get exacerbated by the media lying about so many other justified police killings that it creates a false narrative that the police, and not criminals, are the predominant public policy problem.

The outcome of this new paradigm is unmistakable. Police have much more incentive to allow the victim to be stabbed than to risk their lives by shooting the perpetrator. That is already happening. Last year, shootings involving children were up a whopping 43% in Philadelphia. 96% of them were black! This is the legacy of BLM. They are sacrificing black victims of crime (as well as all victims) to protect black criminals.

Why is there no concern about the growing violence among black inner-city youth that leads to exponentially more lives lost than police shootings, especially when considering how many lives the police save?

The media and corrupt politicians will shed crocodile tears and feign outrage over the tragic and unnecessary loss of a young life. Yes, it is tragic and unnecessary. If we actually deterred crime in this country, more victims and, yes, suspects would be saved. But the tragedy is not the police; it's the criminals themselves and the broken families who raise them. Violent crime is being committed at a younger age, and now more girls are being roped into it.

Just last month, a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old girl brutally killed an Uber driver in D.C. during a carjacking. Where is the outrage over that? Well, those suspects will likely be out on the streets no later than their 21st birthdays thanks to a plea deal, which is why we will continue to see more of this. Last year, two black teens among an entire mob of accomplices beat a white man to death at the Frederick fair in a racially tinged attack, yet they will not spend a day in prison.

What is self-evident from the past year is that not only does BLM value black people over white, they value criminals over victims. We will all pay the price moving forward.