A Franklin County grand jury indicted Ohio police officer Connor Grubb on Tuesday in the fatal shooting of Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old pregnant woman, in August 2023, according to CBS News.
Young was suspected of shoplifting when Grubb and another Blendon Township police officer neared her car, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Authorities Charge Sheriff’s Deputy With Murder Over Woman Who Called 9-1-1)
An Ohio police officer was indicted on multiple charges, including murder, in the shooting of Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old pregnant Black mother killed by police in a grocery store parking lot last August. https://t.co/lO3x2L3aNL
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 13, 2024
Bodycam footage shows the other officer repeatedly ordering Young out of the car.
WARNING: graphic footage.
Grubb can be seen raising his pistol during the encounter as Young’s vehicle rolled forward toward him. Grubb then appears to have discharged his weapon and the woman in the car can then be heard screaming. The car can be seen continuing to slowly roll forward until it connected with a shop. “Shots fired,” both officers can be heard saying. One of the officers can be seen smashing the window before the video ends
Grubb allegedly fired a bullet through the windshield that fatally lodged itself in Young’s chest, CBS News reported.
Young was reportedly at least 25 weeks pregnant at the time of her shooting and the unborn child — a daughter — did not survive the ordeal.
Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford stated in a video posted to Facebook that disciplinary proceedings against Grubb would start immediately due to his indictment.
Belford observed that those under indictment cannot legally possess firearms and that his department agreed to an outside investigation into the incident. “I want to be very clear: We’re not passing any judgment on whether Officer Grubb acted properly. We haven’t seen the evidence,” the police chief said.
“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,” Brian Steel, executive vice president of the union representing Blendon Township police, said in a statement. Young’s family called Grubb’s actions a “gross misuse of power and authority,” CBS News reported.
In addition to murder, Grubb was reportedly charged with involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault.
