Scott Tibbs
Police in Columbus face the Kobayashi Maru
By Scott Tibbs, April 26, 2021
The Ma'Khia Bryant case is the Kobayashi Maru. Bryant was actively trying to stab a teenage girl when she was shot by police. But this was a no-win scenario. If the officer shoots, he is damned. If the officer does not shoot, he is
also damned for allowing a black teenage girl to be stabbed. Whether he shoots Bryant or allows her victim to be stabbed, he will be damned as a "racist" who does not care about black lives.
So let's be very clear: The officer absolutely did the right thing. There was an active attempted murder happening right in front of him. The only choice was to stop the crime from happening. As the knife was swinging forward, there was no time to tackle Bryant or draw a Taser. He did exactly what he is trained to do. No one who honestly watches the bodycam video could reach any other conclusion.
This, of course, has not stopped anti-police zealots from openly lying about the shooting, spreading a fraudulent narrative. So-called "attorney" Benjamin Crump
peddled the hoax that Bryant was "unarmed," while "Senator" Sherrod Brown claimed Bryant "should be alive right now." Make no mistake about it: When "Senator" Brown claims Bryant should be alive, what he is really saying is her intended victim should be dead. "Senator" Brown
supports murdering teenage girls with knives.
Predictably, anti-police fanatics have compared using lethal force to save a black teenage girl's life to the arrest of Kyle Rittenhouse after he fatally shot people violently attacking him. But this comparison misses a
very important distinction: Rittenhouse peacefully surrendered to police, even seeking them out to turn himself in. Bryant was actively trying to stab someone when she was shot.
Obviously, there are bad uses of force. The shooting of Philando Castile was terrible. The police officer demanded Castile get his wallet and then fired when Castile tried to obey the officer's commands. Daniel Shaver was shot and killed for trying to pull up his pants while crawling toward the officer. Both officers could have resolved the "threats" without force - ordering Castile out of the car to be frisked and ordering Shaver to put his hands behind his head so he could be frisked and handcuffed.
There are other cases too. Walter Scott was shot and killed when he tried to run away and presented no threat to anyone's safety. The police officer who shot him was sent to prison. Aiyana Stanley-Jones was shot and killed during a SWAT raid when she was only seven years old, and Bounkham Phonesavanh was severely burned during a reckless SWAT raid when a flash-bang grenade was tossed into his crib. For more on the Phonesavanh case and flash-bang grenades, see
here and
here and
here and
here and
here.
In the Ma'Khia Bryant case, however, anti-police zealots and craven virtue-signaling politicians like "Senator" Brown have proven they do not care about black lives. If they did, they would be happy that a police officer saved a black teenage girl's life. Police may well decide that they would be much better off not responding to these calls at all, because they will be damned no matter what they do. This will make everyone less safe, especially poor blacks who are robbed, raped and murdered by violent criminals.
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