Officer faces murder charge after shooting a pregnant black woman accused of shoplifting

Grand jury in Columbus indicted Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb Tuesday over the death of Ta’Kiya Young, 21, on Aug. 24, 2023

Franklin County grand jury indicted Grubb on four counts of murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of felonious assault

Young’s grandmother, Nadine Young, praised the decision, because it was not reasonable for Grubb to point his gun and fire at the pregnant woman while she was sitting in her car outside a Kroger store

Young family attorney, Sean Walton, said it was clear that Grubb should not have used deadly force when confronting Young, as evident by the bodycam footage

Grubb is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday for his arraignment hearing

Ta’Kiya Young, [photo], a 21-year-old pregnant black mother, was killed after being accused of shoplifting last August. She was shot by Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb

The Ohio cop who fatally shot a pregnant mother of two who was accused of shoplifting in August 2023 has been indicted on murder charges.
A grand jury in Columbus indicted Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb on murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault charges Tuesday over the death of Ta’Kiya Young, 21.
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Grubb on four counts of murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of felonious assault.

Officer Sean Connor [photo], was indicted Grubb on four counts of murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of felonious assault

Young’s grandmother, Nadine Young, praised the decision as she claimed it was not reasonable for Grubb to point his gun and fire at the pregnant 21-year-old while she was sitting inside her car outside a Kroger store on Aug. 24, 2023. 

21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young, a black mother, was killed by officer Connor Grubb on August 24, 2023 after being accused of shoplifting. She was seven months pregnant

Young was suspected of stealing bottles of alcohol when Blendon Twp. police officer Connor Grubb and a fellow officer approached her car.
In the video, an officer at the driver’s side window tells Young she’s been accused of shoplifting and orders her out of the car. Young protests, both officers curse at her and yell at her to get out, and Young can be heard asking them, “Are you going to shoot me?”
Seconds later, she turns the steering wheel to the right, the car rolls slowly forward and Grubb fires his gun through her windshield.
The bullet lodged in her chest killing the expectant mother and the baby daughter due in two months.
Would be great grandmother Nadine Young said: “He [Grubb], took a lot from us,” addressing reporters Tuesday.
“It’s not fair. We don’t have her or the baby.”
“It’s been agony, it’s been like a whirlwind of hurt and pain,” she said of the past year.  

Ta’Kiya Young’s grandmother Nadine Young, in the company of her attorney, Sean Walton, speaking to the press on Tuesday, in Columbus, Ohio, after the indictment of officer Connor Grubb said, “He took a lot from us. It’s not fair. We don’t have her or the baby”

Brian Steel, the executive vice president of the union representing Blendon Township police, said the indictment was deeply 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,” he said in a statement.

Nadine Young, mother of Ta’Kiya Young, wears a T-shirt memorializing her granddaughter during a press conference at the office of attorney Sean Walton following the indictment of officer Connor Grubb

With Grubb’s indictment, Blendon City Police Department has started a disciplinary review against the officer, local Police Chief John Belford said.
“No one at Blendon Township has passed any judgment on whether Officer Grubb acted within the law,” Belford said in a statement. 
“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.”

Blendon City cop at the driver’s window tells Young she’s been accused of shoplifting,d orders her out of the car. “Are you going to shoot me?” a protesting Young is heard asking the cops, before she was shot by officer Grubb whose hand is seen holding a gun [photo]

Sean Walton, the Young family’s attorney, said it was clear that Grubb should not have used deadly force when confronting Young, as evident by the bodycam footage released days after the shooting. 
The footage shows Grubb and another Blendon Township officer yelling back and forth with Young, who denied claims that she had shoplifted from the store. 
As the officers cursed at Young and yelled at her to get out, she can be heard asking them, “Are you going to shoot me?” 
When she attempted to drive away and accelerated in Grubb’s direction, he fired and struck Young, who crashed her car into the grocery store’s brick front. 

Seconds later, Young turns the steering wheel to the right, the car rolls slowly forward and Grubb fires his gun through the windshield killing the pregnant woman and the baby she was expecting

Officer Grubb’s action is a “gross misuse of power and authority,” the Young family has said after viewing bodycam footage showing the officer firing the gun, especially given that Young had been accused of a relatively minor crime

The heavily pregnant woman, was given medical aid by the officers but did not survive.    
Walton said that at no point in the encounter was it necessary for Grubb to use deadly force.  
“In no scenario does someone shoplifting contribute to their murder by a police officer,” he said. “She bears no responsibility.”
Grubb is scheduled to return to court on Wednesday for his arraignment hearing.