LeBron James is accused of inciting violence against the Ohio police officer who saved the life of a woman by killing her attacker.
James deleted a tweet targeting the officer who shot 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant as she raised a knife to stab another female on Tuesday.
The officer shot Bryant four times after she ignored his commands. She collapsed to the ground and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday, April 20, about an hour before the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict was announced in Minnesota.
As protests erupted in Ohio, the Los Angeles Lakers star and Ohio native posted a photo of the officer and tweeted “YOU’RE NEXT”. He added the hashtag “ACCOUNTABILITY”.
Franklin County Children Services confirmed that Bryant, 16, was a foster child living in a foster home under the care of Franklin County Children Services.
Her aunt, Hazel Bryant, told The Dispatch that Bryant “got into an altercation with someone else at the home.” Hazel said that Bryant dropped the knife before she was shot.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump tweeted that Bryant was “unarmed” when she was shot.
“As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as @ColumbusPolice killed an unarmed 15 [year old] Black girl named Makiyah Bryant. Another child lost!,” Crump tweeted hours after the shooting.
However, after reviewing the police body cam video, police and city officials determined the shooting was justified.
“It’s a tragic day in the city of Columbus. It’s a horrible, heartbreaking situation,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Tuesday night. “The city of Columbus lost a [16-year-old] girl today. We know based on this footage, the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community. But a family is grieving tonight. And this young [16-year-old] girl will never be coming home.”
With commentary. pic.twitter.com/jXuhyJBKLx
— Shane B. Murphy (@shanermurph) April 21, 2021
