By Patrick Aftoora Orsagos and John Seewer
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio police officer was indicted Tuesday on murder and other charges in the shooting of Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old woman who was killed after being accused of shoplifting last August.
Young was suspected of stealing bottles of alcohol when Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb and a fellow officer approached her car. The other officer ordered her out. Instead, she rolled forward toward Grubb, who fired a single bullet through her windshield into her chest.
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Grubb on charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the death of Young and her baby. He is scheduled to be arraigned in court Wednesday. A warrant for his arrest was issued as part of the indictment.
Brian Steel, executive vice president of the union representing Blendon Township police, called the indictment 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.
In the body camera video of the Aug. 24 shooting, 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. Moments later, after the car comes to a stop against the building, they break the driver’s side window. Police said they tried to save her life, but she was mortally wounded.
Sean Walton, the family’s attorney, said the law is clear on when an officer can use deadly force.
“In no scenario does someone shoplifting contribute to their murder by a police officer,” he said. “She bears no responsibility.”
The Blendon Township police department’s use of force policy says officers should try to move away from an approaching vehicle instead of firing their weapons. An officer should only shoot when 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.”
The state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation completed its investigation into the shooting last December before a special prosecutor was appointed to oversee the case. The prosecutor then presented evidence to the grand jury over two days. Grand juries don’t consider guilt but instead look at whether there’s enough evidence to proceed to a trial.
Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said the department has started a disciplinary review now that Grubb has been indicted. A full-time officer with the township since 2019, Grubb has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. Records show he has not been a licensed officer anywhere else in Ohio.
“No one at Blendon Township has passed any judgment on whether Officer Grubb acted within the law,” the police chief 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.”
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Seewer reported from Toledo. Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.