Cop Who Shot Ma’Khia Bryant’s Was A military-trained Expert Marksman

The Ohio police officer who shot and killed Ma’Khia Bryant as she approached another young woman with a knife, is a military-trained marksman who specialized in firing assault rifles.

The Daily Beast reports that Columbus police officer Nicholas Reardon is currently on paid leave, but, prior to his police career, he was a former U.S. Air National Guardsman who had received an expert marksman badge.

During a press conference on Wednesday, officials released numerous new body-camera videos with different angles of the incident.

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“I understand the outrage and emotion around this incident. A teenage girl is dead, and she’s dead at the hands of a police officer. Under any circumstances, that is a horrendous tragedy,” Columbus Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. said. “But the video shows that there is more to this. It requires us to pause, take a close look at the sequence of events. And though it’s not easy, wait for the facts as determined by an independent investigation.”

Wrestling Alum Update: Nick Reardon ’16 grad AF Basic 8/25 & Security Forces Tech Sch 12/15 Lackland AF Base San Antonio, TX @Reardon2Nick pic.twitter.com/TawNNaLKGh

— BWHS Wrestling (@WattyWrestling) January 23, 2017