An Ohio police officer who shot and killed a pregnant mother of two accused of shoplifting in August 2023 has been charged with murder.
A grand jury in Columbus on Tuesday indicted Blendon Township police Officer Connor Grubb on charges of murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault in connection with the death of 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young.
Young’s grandmother, Nadine Young, praised the decision, saying it was unreasonable for Grubb to point his gun at the pregnant 21-year-old while she sat in her car outside a Kroger on August 24, 2023.
“He took a lot from us,” she told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s not fair. We don’t have her or the baby.”
“It was torture, it was like a whirlwind of suffering and pain,” she said of the past year.
Brian Steel, vice president of the union representing Blendon Township police, said the charges were deeply disappointing.
“Like all police 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 statement.
Local police chief John Belford said his department had initiated disciplinary proceedings against Grubb following the charges.
“No one in Blendon Township has made a judgment as to whether Officer Grubb acted within the law,” Belford said in a statement.
“However, because it may not be legal for accused persons to possess a firearm, the charges against him leave us no choice but to initiate disciplinary proceedings.”
A representative for Grubb was not immediately available for comment.
Sean Walton, the Young family’s attorney, said it was clear that Grubb should not have used deadly force when confronting Young, as evidenced by bodycam footage released days after the shooting.
The footage shows Grubb and another Blendon Township officer engaging in a verbal altercation with Young, who denies allegations that she shoplifted at the store.
As police officers cursed at Young and yelled at her to get out, she was heard asking, “Are you going to shoot me?”
As she started to drive off and accelerated toward Grubbs, he fired, hitting Young, who crashed her car into the brick facade of the grocery store.
Young, who was seven months pregnant, received medical attention from officers but did not survive.
Walton said that at no point during the altercation was it necessary for Grubb to use deadly force.
“In no case does anyone who commits shoplifting contribute to their being killed by a police officer,” he said. “They bear no responsibility.”
Grubb is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday for his arraignment.
With post wires
