I have watched over the last few years how the death at the hands of a police officer has been portrayed. I try to keep my thoughts to myself as far as putting it out on social media, etc. But the situation concerning Ma’Khia Bryant has been running through my thoughts literally day and night since it happened. I need to write them down. You can agree with me or disagree but I just need to put them in words.
Let me start by saying that any life lost that is not from natural causes is heartbreaking. That being said, I have watched this video so many times I see it running in my head even when I am no where near a computer. I am trying to see if the Officer had any other options.
I was not there so I have no idea what truly transpired that day. But here is what I have gathered from everything thing I have seen and heard:
Ma’Khia and her sister lived at this house in a foster care situation. A couple of young women who used to live in the foster home came over and words were said and an argument ensued. Someone called 911 to report a girl with a knife was trying to stab them and lay hands on them. Police are dispatched.
Here is where it get’s confusing to me. Officer Reardon pulls up on scene and immediately encounters a girl getting pushed to the ground by Ma’Khia, an older man kicking the girl on the ground in the head and Ma’Khia lunging for another girl with a knife. Officer Reardon had absolutely no chance to try and de-escalate or figure out what was going on. Not only did he have a girl getting ready to stab another girl (the 911 caller said a girl with a knife…) but he also had to keep an eye on the man who had just kicked another girl in the head. In those 9-13 seconds he had to react to save another girls life.
Officer Reardon had no chance to find out that Ma’Khia was supposed to be the original caller. He had no chance to find out that she was 16. He had no chance to figure out that the girl on the ground and the girl in pink were most likely the original aggressors. He was trained to protect a person’s life from a deadly threat. In those 9-13 seconds, he did was he was supposed to do.
I have several questions that may or may not get answered:
1. If Ma’Khia was the one who called 911 why didn’t she stay in the house and wait for the police to arrive?
2. Why did she bring a knife out if she told the dispatcher that a girl with a knife was trying to hurt them?
3. Who was the guy who kicked the other girl in the head? He looked to be an adult.
4. Was this man someone who encouraged Ma’Khia to come back outside with a knife and try to handle the situation prior to the police arrival?
5. Why didn’t all the adults that were standing around try to stop what was happening? They should have known what was going on. Why didn’t they try to get Ma’Khia to wait and not bring out a knife?
Ma’Khia was probably a very nice young lady. She just made a horrible decision that day. Did she need to lose her life? No. But it wasn’t because of a decision that Officer Reardon made. Had he been given a chance to talk and try to sort out the situation then Ma’Khia would probably still be here and she wouldn’t have been shown as the aggressor. This had nothing to do with her age or race. This had to do with a person making a choice that 9 times out of 10 turns out to be terrible. I am sure Officer Reardon would have loved to have been given the chance to talk things out. I can’t imagine what he is going through. He did his job.
Weight Goes Bye 