2023 police killing in Blendon Township, Ohio
On August 24, 2023, Ta'Kiya Young, a 21-year-old woman, was shot to death by police officer Connor Grubb in Blendon Township, Ohio after she accelerated her vehicle. The shooting occurred after police attempted to question her about shoplifting from a local grocery store.
On August 13, 2024, officer Connor Grubb was charged with murder, manslaughter, and assault for the killing.
Background.
Ta'Kiya Young was a 21-year-old mother of two young sons, aged 6 and 3 at the time of her death; she was pregnant with a due date of November 2023.
Two officers, who were not publicly identified prior to August 2024, were involved in the shooting. Blendon Township cited Marsy's Law, which requires that police withhold the names of victims of violent crimes, for not releasing the names of the officers. Police considered the officer who shot Young a potential victim of attempted vehicular assault, as he was hit by the vehicle. Police considered the other officer a potential victim of misdemeanor assault, as his arm was inside the car window when Young accelerated. Blendon Township Police Department also did not disclose for how many years each officer had worked, as it considered years of service to be an identifying marker due to the department's small size.
Ohio officials continually cite Marsy's Law to explain limited release of details related to police shootings. According to The Marshall Project, law enforcement agencies in several states have increasingly used victims' rights statutes to shield the identities of officers involved in deadly use-of-force incidents, a trend that has been criticized by advocates of open governance and transparency.
Killing.
Young was sitting in her car outside a Kroger grocery store around 6:30 pm when a store staff member approached nearby police and alleged that Young had stolen alcohol from the store. Young was sitting in a four-door Lexus sedan that did not have a license plate and was parked in a handicap spot. Two police officers approached the car and demanded several times that Young exit the vehicle. One officer stood near the driver's door and another stood in front of the vehicle, with his gun drawn. Young remained behind the wheel and told the officers that she did not steal anything.
After about one minute Young began driving toward officer Connor Grubb who fired one shot through the windshield, killing Young and her unborn baby. Both officers offered assistance to Young after the shooting, with emergency services called within ten seconds of the shooting and a trauma kit was used on Young under two minutes of the shooting. A passerby who was an emergency room doctor supported the police with medical assistance until paramedics arrived and transported Young to the hospital where she and her unborn child died from her injuries.
Body camera footage of the interaction between Young and the officers has been released. An attorney representing Young's family said a witness saw Young put down bottles of alcohol as she left the store. In early September, newly released video footage appeared to show Young putting multiple bottles of alcohol into her purse and a tote bag while out of sight of the cash register. She and the two other women then allegedly left the store without paying. The tote bag full of liquor is visible in police bodycam footage as they drag her injured body from the car.
Aftermath.
The Blendon Township police use-of-force policy provides that officers should try to move away from an approaching vehicle instead of firing their weapons. Both of the officers were placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting, although the officer who did not fire his gun has since returned to duty. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting.
On October 4, 2023, it was announced that Young and her unborn child's deaths had been ruled as homicides, and that the case will be presented to a grand jury to decide whether to bring charges to the officer who fired at Young. In December 2023, it was announced that a special prosecutor had been appointed to determine charges, if any, in the case.
Indictment.
On August 13, 2024, nearly a year after the killing, the shooter, Blendon Township officer Connor Grubb was indicted by a grand jury with four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Grubb is set to be arraigned on August 14. If convicted of murder, Grubb would face a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Response.
Attorneys for Young's family demanded a swift indictment of the officer responsible for the killings of Young and her unborn daughter. Young's family held a candlelight vigil the day after the shooting outside of her grandmother's home to honor Young and her unborn baby.
Blendon Township Chief of Police John Belford called the shooting a "tragic situation for everyone". A police news release claimed that the officer near the front of the vehicle was "a victim of attempted vehicular assault" and the other, who had a part of his arm in the driver's side window, was "a victim of misdemeanor assault". In response to the incident, a member of the Fraternal Order of Police said that "A weapon is not just a firearm. A weapon is also a 2,000-pound vehicle that somebody puts into gear and is driving at you."
References.
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