‘He Has A Duty’: Don Lemon And Chris Cuomo Defend The Officer Who Shot Ma’Khia Bryant

CNN hosts Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo defended the officer who fatally shot Ma’Khia Bryant, saying that he had a duty to protect the life of the girl she was attempting to stab.

Lemon began the exchange by describing the shooting, which took place Tuesday afternoon in Columbus Ohio, as “really, really tough.” Cuomo said that he and Lemon heard about the shooting while they were covering the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for the death of George Floyd.

The pair was skeptical of early reports that “didn’t seem right” and wanted to see more of what actually happened, Cuomo added.

“There’s a lot of anguish, people are very emotional right now but we’ve got to be fair about what happens when police arrive at scenes,” Lemon said. “It is tragic that it’s a 16-year-old girl.”

“Just as it is tragic that it’s a 13-year-old in Chicago,” he continued, referring to 13-year-old Adam Toledo who was shot by police in Chicago. “When police are chasing people, they don’t know how old they are … when they roll up on the scene, they see people tussling around. Someone has a knife. And their job is to protect and serve. Every life on that scene.”

“And if they see someone who is in the process of taking a life, what is that decision, what decision do they have to make? Tasers don’t work the way guns work.”

Cuomo agreed that tasers don’t work the way guns work, especially at the distance that the officer was standing away from Bryant and with just a split-second to make a decision. Lemon made the point that tasers don’t always connect with the target they are trying to hit.

“But I see it, if the woman in the pink was my sister, ni... (Read more)

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