An Ohio grand jury decided whether the officer seen on body camera footage fatally shooting a pregnant Black woman should be held accountable for his actions... and it does not look good.
The Franklin County grand jury slammed Blendon Township Officer Connor Grubb with charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault. The indictment stems from August 24, 2023 when grocery store clerks called 911 on 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young, who was 25-weeks pregnant, alleging she’d stolen bottles of alcohol, authorities said. Surveillance footage showed Young enter the wine and spirits side of the store with another woman, place bottles of alcohol into various tote bags and then walk into the general grocery area before exiting.
By the time Young made it to her car, body camera video showed Grubb and another officer approach her car, banging on the window and cursing at her to exit the vehicle. Young then slowly pulled the car out of the parking space as Grubb placed himself in front of it. He then shot a single bullet through her windshield, striking Young in the chest.
Both Young and her unborn baby girl died. Despite various critics and the police union who defended Grubb saying he was forced to make a “split-second decision,” a grand jury found it necessary to make him face the gavel.
Read more from CBS News:
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb on charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault. He is scheduled to be arraigned in court Wednesday.
Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said in a video posted to Facebook that disciplinary proceedings against Grubb would begin immediately, noting that people under indictment can’t legally possess firearms. Belford said the town wasn’t involved in the outside investigation into the shooting.
The township’s policy on the use of force advises officers to move away from an approaching vehicle instead of firing their weapons unless they have reason to believe the car is being used as a deadly weapon, the report says. After almost a year of demanding the officer be charged, Young’s family finally got what they were advocating for. Though, it doesn’t heal the wound they bear from losing their loved one.
“He took a lot from us. It’s not fair. We don’t have her or the baby,” she said to CBS. “It’s been agony, it’s been like a whirlwind of hurt and pain.”