An Ohio police officer accused of fatally shooting a pregnant woman has been indicted on murder charges, according to court documents.
Blendon Township Police officer Connor Grubb allegedly shot Ta’Kiya Young, 21, last August after confronting her in a grocery store parking lot following allegations that she had shoplifted. After repeatedly being asked to get out of her vehicle by Grubb and another officer, Young slowly accelerated her car toward an officer, who police said was struck.
Grubb was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, per online records filed Tuesday.
Body camera video from the Aug. 24 incident shows an officer approach a car with Young in the driver’s seat.
“Out of the car,” an officer can be heard saying multiple times.
“For what?” Young asks.
“They said you stole stuff. Do not leave,” he responds.
A second officer then stands in front of Young’s car, puts his hand on the hood, and eventually points his gun at her through the front windshield.
“I didn’t steal s—,” Young says.
“Then get out,” the first officer says.
The officer standing in front of Young’s car is then seen pointing his gun toward her.
“Get out of the f—ing car,” the second officer says.
“No,” Young is heard saying, followed by, “You gonna shoot me?”
“Get out of the car,” the first officer responds while banging on Young’s window with one hand and grabbing the slightly opened window with the other.
Seconds later, Young is seen turning her steering wheel and driving off. A sound is heard, as Grubb fires into the windshield at close range and moves to the driver’s side.
In a statement after the shooting, Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said Young drove her car directly into one of the officers and he “fired a single shot through the windshield,” which led to her death. According to Belford, the officer is a victim of attempted vehicular assault.
Belford also said that Young drove away while part of the other officer’s arm was in the driver’s side window, making him a victim of misdemeanor assault. As Young attempted to drive away, the officer’s fingers were grabbing the window, the footage shows.
Grubb was placed on administrative leave following the incident. The other officer was initially also placed on administrative leave but returned to duty after Belford viewed body camera footage and saw no reason to keep him on leave, he said.
In a statement, the law firm representing Young’s family called the indictment “a solemn victory in the pursuit of justice” for the 21-year-old and her unborn daughter, but only a step, not the conclusion of the journey.
“The grand jury’s decision, fortunately, reflects the community’s collective conscience, recognizing this tragedy for what it truly is — a murder that demands empathy and justice,” the statement read.
Nadine Young, 61, said last year that her granddaughter was a mother of two boys, ages 3 and 6, and was expecting a daughter in November.
“An unarmed Black female was killed. That’s what we know. Two kids have no mama,” she said at the time.
In a news briefing Tuesday, Nadine Young said she has been raising Young’s sons, as she helped raise her for most of her life.
“It’s been for me, agony,” said the elder Young. “It’s been like a whirlwind of just hurt and pain.”
Nadine said Grubb did not have to kill her granddaughter, and called him “a bully with a badge.” Young’s 22nd birthday was on August 1, and her youngest son’s birthday was on July 29.
“Her next son was the 18th of August, and then mine is the 19th. My son’s was yesterday,” Nadine said. “So it’s like, we all celebrated together.”
Sean Walton, an attorney for the family, said Grubb did not de-escalate the situation last year the way police are trained to.
“Everything he did escalated that situation, and that’s why Ta’Kiya was murdered,” Walton said, adding that Grubb should have never taken out his gun.
Walton said that Grubb should be terminated immediately following the indictment. The Blendon Township Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Young’s grandmother said she wants Grubb in prison for the rest of his life.
“That would be justice for me, and our family and her boys,” she said.
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