COLUMBUS (AP) — The white Ohio police officer who killed 13-year-old Tyre King argues in a new court filing that he used reasonable force and race wasn’t a factor in the shooting of the Black teenager.
The filing also contends Columbus Officer Bryan Mason has legal immunity from claims in the civil rights lawsuit filed by Tyre’s grandmother.
Mason shot Tyre in 2016 while responding to a reported armed robbery.
The lawsuit challenged the police account of what happened, citing witnesses who said Mason used a racial slur and that the BB gun Tyre had wasn’t visible.
Mason denies the slur and says he saw a weapon that appeared real.
