On Wednesday, NBA player LeBron James posted a photo of the Columbus police officer who saved the life of an unarmed girl by shooting her attacker, a black teenage girl armed with a knife, with the caption, “YOU’RE NEXT. #ACCOUNTABILITY.”
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The National Fraternal Order of Police responded to his tweet, writing, “@KingJames, with his vast resources & influence, should educate himself and, frankly, has a responsibility to do so, on the facts before weighing in. This is disgraceful & extremely reckless. The officer saved a young girl’s life. No amount of gaslighting will change that fact.”
.@KingJames, with his vast resources & influence, should educate himself and, frankly, has a responsibility to do so, on the facts before weighing in. This is disgraceful & extremely reckless.
The officer saved a young girl's life. No amount of gaslighting will change that fact. pic.twitter.com/GTHn1VAAlf
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) April 21, 2021
The shooting occurred on Tuesday after officers responded to an emergency-911 call reporting an attempted stabbing. Bodycam footage showed the Columbus police fatally shot Makiyah Bryant, a black teenage girl, as she tried to stab another girl, presumably saving the life of the unarmed girl.
#Columbus
*potentially disturbing*
Body cam. Suspect had a large knife and officers were responding to reports of a knife. pic.twitter.com/ddoXQKXxSf— Shane B. Murphy (@shanermurph) April 21, 2021
Bodycam footage was quickly released to show the necessity for the officer to act to prevent the stabbing and to prevent rioting. The rioting still occurred.
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“We know based on this footage the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community,” Columbus Mayor Andrew explained as the police department released the bodycam video. “We think it’s critically important to share as much information as possible. We’ll continue to share footage and other information as quickly as possible.”