No, Psaki, the Ohio Police Shooting Was Not an Example of Systemic Racism

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd seems to have presented a bit of a problem for high-profile far-leftists who seem to have been salivating over the prospect of an acquittal that they could have used to push the usual “everyone is racist” narrative. But the fact that they were deprived of such an opportunity only means they will find another way to race bait.

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This is where the shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant comes in.

During a recent press conference, White House press secretary Jen Psaki commented on the shooting, which left the 16-year-old black girl dead, saying that the White House would continue to address “systemic racism.”

“Let me just say, since you gave me the opportunity, the killing of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant by the Columbus police is tragic. She was a child,” Psaki said. “We know that police violence disproportionately impacts Black and Latino people and communities and that Black women and girls like Black men and boys experience higher rates of police violence.”

“We also know that there are particular vulnerabilities that children in foster care like Ma’Khia face,” Psaki added.

Of course, Psaki forgot to point out that Bryant was wielding a knife as she attacked another black girl.

“Her death came, as you noted, just as America is hopeful of a step forward after the traumatic and exhausting trial of Derek Chauvin and the verdict that was reached. So our focus is on working to address systemic racism and implicit bias head-on and, of course, to passing laws and legislation that will put much-needed reforms into place at police departments around the country,” she said.

The shooting occurred after police were called to a home in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday to respond to a report of a person trying to stab another. Fox News reported:

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As soon as police pulled up, a young female can be seen tackling another female to the ground with what appeared to be a knife in her hand. The girl can then be seen charging at another nearby female who was pinned between a car while raising the apparent knife in the air. The officer involved fires four shots, fatally injuring Bryant.

A man immediately yells at the officer, “You didn’t have to shoot her! She’s just a kid, man!”

The officer responds, “She had a knife. She just went at her.”

Protesters congregated near the scene of the shooting and at the Columbus Police headquarters on Tuesday evening.

Psaki is not the only leftist trying to downplay the presence of the knife in the incident. Even activist media outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post omitted any mention of the knife in the tweets they posted about the story.

As usual, leftist claims of racism and police misconduct are inaccurate and solely designed to inflame more racial tensions and anti-police sentiment. After watching the bodycam footage, one can easily determine that this incident is nothing like the murders of George Floyd and Walter Scott. In this case, the officer did not have a choice but to shoot. If he had not acted, it was highly probable that Bryant could have fatally wounded the other girl, who is also black, and the hard left is fully aware of this.

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Indeed, if the officer had done nothing and the other girl died, the left would be the first in line to call him racist. But, as we have seen repeatedly, the hard left does not care about black people. These incidents are nothing more than political fodder for the race-baiting types.

The conviction of Derek Chauvin did not give so-called progressives much to work with. So now, they are trying to use the Bryant case. However, it is clear that this particular story won’t work either, because it is only a matter of time before the public realizes the truth about the knife.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that the progressive left will not find another convenient story. After all, it will be only a matter of time before the next police shooting occurs, and the activist media uses it to drum up more outrage.

 

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