Police officer charged with murder in shooting death of pregnant black woman accused of shoplifting

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio police officer was charged Tuesday with murder and other charges in connection with the shooting death of Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old black mother who was killed after being accused of shoplifting last August.

Young was suspected of stealing bottles of alcohol when Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb and a colleague approached her automotive. The other officer ordered her to get out. Instead, she rolled forward toward Grubb, who fired a single shot through the windshield into her chest. The daughter she was expecting three months later also died.

A Franklin County grand jury indicted Grubb on charges of murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault in the deaths of Young and her child. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. An arrest warrant was issued as part of the indictment.

Brian Steel, president of the union representing Blendon Township police, called the indictment deeply disappointing. “Like all law enforcement officers, Officer Grubb had to make a split-second decision, a reality all too familiar to those who protect our communities,” he said in a press release.

Young’s grandmother, Nadine Young, said the officer shouldn’t have drawn his gun when he first confronted her.

“He took a lot from us,” she said Tuesday. “It’s not fair. We don’t have her or the baby.”

The past yr has been difficult for the family, including her granddaughter’s two young sons, she said. “It’s been agony, it’s been like a hurricane of pain and suffering,” she said.

Family members called for charges against the officer shortly after the Aug. 24 shooting. After watching body camera footage of the officer shooting, the family called his actions a “gross abuse of power and authority,” especially considering Young was charged with a comparatively minor crime.

The footage shows an officer at the motive force’s window telling Young she’s been charged with shoplifting and telling her to get out of the automotive. Young protests, each officers curse at her and yell at her to get out, and Young might be heard asking them, “Are you going to shoot me?”

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Seconds later, she turns the wheel to the fitting, the automotive slowly rolls forward, and Grubb fires his gun. Moments later, because the automotive stops at a constructing, they smash the motive force’s side window. Police said they tried to save lots of her life, but she was fatally wounded.

Sean Walton, the family’s attorney, said the law is evident about when an officer can use deadly force.

“In no scenario does a shoplifter contribute to his murder by a police officer,” he said. “He bears no responsibility.”

Some departments in the United States prohibit officers from shooting at or from moving vehicles, and law enforcement organizations comparable to the Police Executive Research Forum argue that shooting in such circumstances creates unacceptable risks to bystanders, comparable to resulting from accidental discharge or the motive force losing control of the vehicle.

The Blendon Township police use-of-force policy says officers should try to move away from an oncoming vehicle somewhat than fire their weapon. An officer should only fire if she or he “reasonably believes there are no other reasonable means to prevent the imminent threat posed by the vehicle, or if deadly force other than a vehicle is directed against the officer or others.”

Young’s encounter with police was one of a series of disturbing incidents involving black adults and youngsters in Ohio following officer-involved shootings, and there have been quite a few incidents of police brutality against black people across the country over the past few years.

The state Bureau of Investigation wrapped up its investigation into the shooting last December before a special prosecutor was appointed to oversee the case. The prosecutor then presented the evidence to a grand jury over two days. Juries don’t consider guilt but as an alternative take a look at whether there’s enough evidence to go to trial.

Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said the department has begun a disciplinary review now that Grubb has been charged. Grubb, a full-time borough officer since 2019, has been on paid administrative leave because the shooting. His personnel file showed he had no disciplinary history on the job, his first as a police officer.

“No one in Blendon Township has made any judgment as to whether Officer Grubb acted lawfully,” the police chief said in a press release. “However, because the individuals charged may not be lawfully in possession of firearms, the indictment against him leaves us with no choice but to pursue disciplinary action.”