Horrifying moment pregnant Ta’Kiya Young, 21, is shot dead by Ohio cop after she drove in
Shocking bodycam footage reveals the moment a pregnant black woman was shot dead by police after she drove into an officer in a Kroger parking lot.
Ta’Kiya Young, 21, has two young children and was pregnant with a third when she was shot inside her car in Blendon Township, Ohio last Thursday after rolling her car into a police officer. The unborn child also lost its life.
Local police officers approached Young in her car after a Kroger store employee accused her of stealing. An accusation that the family’s lawyer denies.
Sean Walton, an attorney representing Young’s family, said the video clearly shows that the shooting was unjustified and has called for the officer to be fired and charged immediately.
‘The video did nothing but confirm their fears that Ta’Kiya was murdered unjustifiably…and it was just heartbreaking for them to see Ta’Kiya having her life taken away under such ridiculous circumstances,’ Walton told AP. ‘Ta’Kiya’s family is heartbroken.’
Local police officers approached Young in her car after a Kroger store employee accused her of stealing
Footage shows one officer interacting with the victim at her window, while another stands in front of the bonnet of her car
Police released yesterday the bodycam footage and an investigation led by Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation remains ongoing.
Footage shows one officer interacting with the victim at her window, while another stands in front of the bonnet of her car.
Young is seen rolling down her car window and asking police why she is being stopped before turning the steering wheel and rolling her car forward into the second officer.
Shortly before the shot is fired, Young can be heard asking, ‘are you going to shoot me?’
The second officer then fires a single shot through the windscreen, ultimately resulting in her death.
Young’s vehicle continues to drift forward until it hits the brick wall of the grocery store to the right.
The officer’s pursue the moving vehicle and break the driver’s side window.
Blendon Township Chief John Belford said in a statement on Friday that within 10 seconds of getting Young out of her vehicle, officers called for paramedics and within 90 seconds, an emergency room doctor, who was in the parking lot at the time, began helping police treat her.
Ta’Kiya Young, 21, has two young children and was pregnant with a third when she was shot inside her car in Blendon Township
‘Her tragic passing has left a void that words can’t describe, especially for her two young sons, who must now grow up without the love and guidance of their mother’ a family statement read
Friends comfort each other at a private candlelight vigil on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, in Columbus
Blendon Township has not yet released the identities of either officer, citing Marsy’s Law which aims to protect the victims of crime
Blendon Township Chief John Belford said in a statement on Friday that within 10 seconds of getting Young out of her vehicle, officers called for paramedics
‘Ta’Kiya was a beacon of love, strength and energy to all who knew her,’ her family said
A statement released on behalf of Young’s family after viewing the footage called Young’s death ‘avoidable,’ and a ‘hateful act.’
‘Ta’Kiya was a beacon of love, strength and energy to all who knew her,’ the statement read.
‘Her tragic passing has left a void that words can’t describe, especially for her two young sons, who must now grow up without the love and guidance of their mother, and while coming to understand the circumstances that led to her homicide.’
The statement also said Young’s family wants a ‘swift indictment’ of the officer who fired the shot.
Blendon Township has not yet released the identities of either officer, citing Marsy’s Law which aims to protect the victims of crime.
However, Young’s family have identified the officer as Connor Grubb, who has been with Blendon Township since 2019, according to Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission records, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The department said the first officer, who did not fire his weapon, had his arm and hand inside the driver’s window when Young accelerated, making him a victim of misdemeanor assault.
The second officer, who fired his weapon, was hit by the vehicle and a victim of attempted vehicular assault, the statement said.
Brian Steel, Fraternal Order of Police Captial City Lodge No. 9 executive vice president, said the footage was hard to watch but ‘based on my training experience, from what I saw in that video, I understand why it could be justified but again, I don’t make that decision. Ultimately, a grand jury is going to make that decision.’
‘The fact is Miss Young was not shot for stealing alcohol. She was shot because following an aggravated robbery, she tried to run down a fellow human being’ he added.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation into the incident.
Upon the investigation’s conclusion the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office will present the case to a grand jury for review.
Young’s death follows a troubling series of fatal shootings of black adults and children by Ohio police and numerous occurrences of police brutality against black people across the nation in recent years, events that have prompted widespread protests and demands for police reform.