Just minutes after the Derek Chauvin verdict was announced, the public learned that Columbus Police had shot and killed sixteen-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant. 

“This news is absolutely heartbreaking – and infuriating. Ma’Khia Bryant’s life should have been long and filled with love and joy. Instead, we add her to the long list of young Black people dead at the hands of police,” said Debra Hauser, President, Advocates for Youth.  “Within 13 seconds of arriving on the scene, the police officer had fired the shots that killed Ma’Khia. The policing of Black communities is a threat to young Black lives, and it’s past time for policy makers and youth-serving professionals to acknowledge that – and to take radical action to fight that threat. We need support, opportunity, and real crisis management for young Black people facing crisis – not escalation, violence, and death. We mourn Ma’Khia Bryant and we are committed to working alongside young people to defund and divest from police.”