In Columbus, Ohio, where 16-year-old Ma'Kiah Bryant died in a police shooting this week, anti-police activists are calling for a federal probe of the police department.
Hours after Bryant was killed by a Columbus officer—video shows her charging another girl with what looks like a knife—protests erupted in the area, with neighbors like Ira Graham III saying her death was further proof of something they've believed for years. It is not safe to call the police.
Black people in Columbus have good reason to fear, according to activist Jasmine Ayres. "We have one of the most violent police departments in the United States," activist Jasmine Ayres told NPR.
"We want the Department of Justice to investigate the Columbus police department," says Ayres. "It's clear that after a decade of disproportionately killing Black and brown people, that they're not going to fix it."
And since a bunch of activists asking for a Justice Department probe doesn't necessarily carry all that much weight, Ayres wants the city to officially invite the federal scrutiny.
