Grand jury decides not to indict Columbus police officer in death of Ma'Khia Bryant

A Franklin County grand jury has decided not to indict a Columbus police officer in the death of Ma'Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old girl who was shot and killed as she swung a knife at a woman last year on the Southeast Side.

Officer Nicholas Reardon went before a grand jury Friday, according to Jeff Simpson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9. The grand jury returned a "no bill," meaning it did not find probable cause that a crime had been committed.

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Reardon "acted appropriately," Simpson said. "It's unfortunate when anyone loses their life, but the officer saved lives that day and did what he was trained to do."

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Bryant, who was Black, was shot by Reardon on April 20 in front of a foster home in the 3100 block of Legion Lane on the Southeast Side where Bryant and one of her siblings had been staying.

She died at a nearby hospital. Bryant's friends and witnesses say that other people at the house were the aggressors and that Bryant was defending herself.

Bryant's family is disappointed with the grand jury's decision, said Michelle Martin, their attorney.

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"Ma'Khia's family has long wondered why this officer opted for lethal force even though there should have been other non-deadly options available to deal with this situation," Martin said in a statement.

Martin called for full-scale changes to Ohio's foster care system, saying in her statement that it is failing children.

"As the one-year anniversary of Ma'Khia's death approaches, her family is resolute in their fight for justice on her behalf," Martin said.

Franklin County Grand jury declines to indict; Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost releases Bryant's case file

The fatal shooting was investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), which completed and sent its review in July to Franklin County Prosecutor G. Gary Tyack.

Bryant's case was assigned to Special Prosecutors H. Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer because Tyack's office serves as legal counsel for Franklin County Children's Services, a potential conflict of interest. The two veteran Columbus attorneys were also appointed by Tyack to serve as special prosecutors for the ongoing investigation into the fatal December shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. by Franklin County SWAT Deputy Jason Meade, who retired July 2.

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Merkle and Shroyer said in a news release on Friday that in the course of their review of BCI's investigation, they hired a "nationally known independent use-of-force expert to evaluate the conduct of the officer in his use of deadly force in the context of generally accepted police practices."

"Under Ohio law the use of deadly force by a police officer is justified when there exists an immediate or imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another," Merkle and Shroyer said in the release. "The Franklin County Grand Jury has completed a full and comprehensive review of the incident and has returned no criminal charges."

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In the wake of the grand jury's verdict, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office oversees BCI, published Bryant's case file online.

“BCI was called to do a thorough, independent investigation of the facts,” Yost said in a news release. “I’ve asked for patience while promising transparency, and now is the appropriate time for that work to be made public.”

The case file includes a detailed summary of BCI's findings and a narrative of the events leading up to the fatal shooting.

What happened before Ma'Khia Bryant was shot, killed by Columbus police?

On April 19, a surprise birthday party was held for foster mother Angela Moore at her home on Legion Lane.

Moore at the time was fostering Bryant, Bryant's sister, Ja'niah Bryant, and a third teenage girl, according to BCI. Moore had previously fostered Tionna Bonner, of Cleveland, and Shai-Onta Craig, of Columbus.

In addition to them, four other people were present at the party.

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Overnight and into the morning there was conversation or mention of the house being dirty, BCI said in its report, and Bonner felt Bryant and the current foster children "should be cleaning the house."

"Those comments or discussions turned into arguments," BCI wrote in the report, adding that Bryant and the other foster children later exchanged text messages with one another about Bonner's suggestions.

Bonner and the Bryant sisters got into an argument the next day at the house, according to BCI. Craig, after being contacted by Bonner, arrived at the house.

That afternoon, Ja'Niah Bryant, called 911 about a disturbance at the house. "We got these girls over here trying to fight us, trying to stab us, trying to put their hands on our grandma," she told a dispatcher.

Ja'Niah did not respond when the dispatcher asked whether weapons were involved, according to BCI.

Three officers, including Reardon, responded to the call. Reardon waited until the other two officers arrived before approaching the driveway of the Legion Lane house where Bryant, Craig, Bonner and others were, the BCI report said.

Bryant was holding a knife when Reardon approached and began to move in Craig's direction, according to the report. But Craig fell to the ground while backing up and Bryant stepped over Craig and then began moving toward Bonner.

"Ma’Khia, still in possession of a knife in her right hand, was seen raising her right arm and drawing back, while continuing to move into the direction of Bonner. As Craig had gone to the ground before him, Reardon said “get down” four times before he fired his first shot. Reardon fired four (4) shots, all fired within approximately one second," the report says.

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Bryant fell to the ground and one of the officers began rendering aid to her, while the other officer began securing the scene and witnesses, according to the report. Reardon assisted the officer helping Bryant until he was removed from the scene and medics arrived.

Bryant was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

The fatal shooting happened about 20 minutes before a guilty verdict was announced in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd, prompting hundreds to protest at the shooting site and Downtown.

Bethany Bruner contributed to this story.

Monroe Trombly covers breaking and trending news.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@monroetrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Grand jury declines to indict officer in death of Ma'Khia Bryant