Officer Charged with Murder in Fatal Shooting of Pregnant Black Woman Accused of Shoplifting
COLUMBUS, Ohio— An Ohio police officer was charged on Tuesday with murder and other offenses in the shooting of Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old pregnant Black mother who was slain after being accused of stealing last August.
When Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb and another officer approached Young’s car, they accused her of stealing alcohol bottles. The other officer ordered her to leave. Instead, she rolled forward toward Grubb, who fired one bullet through her windshield and into her chest. Three months later, the daughter she was expecting died.
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Grubb on counts of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and felonious assault in the deaths of Young and her child. He is set to be arraigned in court on Wednesday. The indictment included a warrant for his arrest.
Brian Steel, head of the union representing Blendon Township police, described the indictment as profoundly disappointing. “Like all law enforcement officers, Officer Grubb had to make a split-second decision, a reality all too familiar for those who protect our communities,” according to his statement.
Nadine Young, Young’s grandmother, claimed the police should never have drawn his gun when approached her.
“He took a lot from us,” she explained on Tuesday. “It is not fair. “We do not have her or the baby.”
The last year has been challenging for the family, particularly her granddaughter’s two small sons, she explained. “It’s been agony, it’s been like a whirlwind of hurt and pain,” she went on.
Shortly after the incident on August 24, family members asked for the officer to be charged. After seeing bodycam footage of the officer discharging the gun, the family described his actions as a “gross misuse of power and authority,” especially given that Young had been charged with a minor infraction.
In the video, an officer at the driver’s side window informs Young that she has been suspected of theft and demands her out of the car. Young protests; both cops shout at her and demand her to leave, and Young can be heard saying, “Are you going to shoot me?”
Seconds later, she shifts the steering wheel to the right, the car slowly moves ahead, and Grubb discharges his rifle. They crack the driver’s side window shortly after the car comes to rest against the structure. Police stated they attempted to save her life, but she was fatally injured.
Sean Walton, the family’s attorney, stated that the law clearly defines when an officer may use fatal force.
“In no scenario does someone shoplifting contribute to their murder by a police officer,” according to him. “She bears no responsibility.”
Some departments in the United States prohibit officers from firing at or from moving vehicles, and law enforcement organizations such as the Police Executive Research Forum argue that shooting in such situations poses an unacceptable risk to bystanders due to stray gunfire or the driver losing control of the vehicle.
The Blendon Township police department’s use of force policy states that officers should attempt to maneuver away from an oncoming vehicle rather than fire their weapons. A law enforcement officer shouldn’t fire unless he or she “reasonably believes there are no other reasonable means available to avert the imminent threat of the vehicle, or if deadly force other than the vehicle is directed at the officer or others.”
Young’s interaction with police was one of a worrisome string of deadly shootings of Black adults and children by Ohio policemen, and it came after a number of incidents of police violence against Black people across the country in recent years.
The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation concluded its investigation into the shooting in December, and a special prosecutor was assigned to oversee the case. The prosecutor then presented evidence to the grand jury for two days. Grand juries do not determine guilt, but rather whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial.
Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford stated that the agency has initiated a disciplinary process now that Grubb has been indicted. Grubb, a full-time officer with the township since 2019, has been placed on paid administrative leave since the incident. His personnel file showed that he had no disciplinary history on the job, which was his first as a police officer.
“No one at Blendon Township has passed any judgment on whether Officer Grubb acted within the law,” the police chief stated. “However, since people who’ve been indicted may not legally possess a firearm, the indictment against him leaves us with no choice but to begin the disciplinary process.”