Nicholas Reardon Columbus OH cop who shot dead Ma’Khia Bryant black teen girl id as military trained marksman. Trained to kill? Militarization of police.
The Columbus, Ohio police officer who fatally shot a black teenage girl lunging at two other teens outside a local residence has been identified as being a military-trained marksman and the son of the department’s longtime basic training sergeant, according to a report.
Columbus police officer Nicholas Reardon — who was placed on paid leave after fatally shooting 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant Tuesday — is a U.S. Air National Guardsman who received an expert marksman badge with a M4 Carbine rifle, according to the Daily Beast.
The M4 Carbine rifle is described as being a gas-powered assault rifle used in the military.
Reardon, who joined the department in 2019, is also the son of Air Force veteran and retired Columbus Division of Police Sergeant Edward ‘Ted’ Reardon, according to the media outlet, which cited social media and other reports.
On Wednesday, the Columbus police department released bodycam footage that appears to show Bryant lunging with a knife at a girl before she was fatally shot by Reardon.
‘You shot my baby. Are you f—ing kidding me?
‘Get down! Get down!’ the officer is heard shouting before he fires four shots at Bryant.
A man can then be heard, yelling, ‘You shot my baby. Are you f—ing kidding me? Are you f—ing serious?’
The shooting came the same day former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd — a case that sparked protests and raised questions about police ‘militarization’ and use of force nationwide.
That the shooter received armed forces training potentially invites fresh questions about the militarization of police in America.
Trigger happy?
Reardon had been responding to two separate 911 calls about a reported stabbing attempt at around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when he arrived on the scene, according to police. It remained unclear if one of the callers was Bryant, as an aunt told reporters on Tuesday evening.
Columbus Interim Police Chief Mike Woods added that Reardon may not have had ‘cover, distance, and time’ to use a Taser. Within twenty seconds of having arrived on the scene, Reardon had fired four gunshots, fatally killing the black teen girl.
The victim’s family have since accused authorities of gunning down Bryant who they claim had ‘simply sought to defend herself.’
Rosemary Ellison, a 66-year-old who lives in the area, believes Reardon should be criminally charged in Bryant’s death.
‘The thing that’s concerning is that there were other officers here (before Reardon arrived). They didn’t see a threat. They didn’t use their authority and position to the extreme,’ Ellison said according to the Daily Beast.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is now handling the investigation into the Columbus shooting and reviewing Reardon’s use of deadly force.
