Officer's attorney: Videos show fatal shooting of pregnant Black woman was justified

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio police officer charged in the shooting of Ta’Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother who was killed after being accused of shoplifting, felt threatened when she began to roll her car toward him, the officer's attorney said Wednesday.

Young was suspected of stealing alcohol on Aug. 24, 2023, when Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb and a fellow officer approached her car. She lowered her window part-way and the other officer ordered her out. Instead, she moved her car forward toward Grubb, who fired a single bullet through her windshield into her chest.

Grubb wore a jail uniform as he appeared in court via video from behind bars on Wednesday after turning himself in to authorities a day earlier. A magistrate set the officer's bond at $250,000, which was posted soon after the hearing, according to court records. A full-time officer with the township since 2019, Grubb has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting.

Grubb was charged by a grand jury on Tuesday with murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the death of Young and the daughter she was expecting three months later.

Bodycam videos of the encounter showed an officer at the driver’s side window telling Young she was accused of shoplifting and ordering her out. Young protested and both officers cursed at her and yelled at her to get out. Young could be heard asking them, “Are you going to shoot me?”

Then she turned the steering wheel to the right, the car rolled slowly forward and Grubb fired his gun.

Mark Collins, one of the officer's attorneys, told reporters after Young's arraignment that the video shows the shooting was justified.

“The reason he just discharged his weapon is because he felt the threat of serious physical injury from being hit by the car or potential death,” Collins said.

Sean Walton, the family’s attorney, said Grubb had escalated the encounter by unnecessarily drawing his gun when he first confronted Young.

“The evidence speaks for itself,” he said Wednesday. He said he was frustrated that the magistrate did not set a higher bond given that two lives were lost.

Brian Steel, president of the union representing Blendon Township police, said Grubb had to make a split-second decision, “a reality all too familiar for those who protect our communities.”

Some departments around the U.S. prohibit officers from firing at or from moving vehicles, and law enforcement groups such as the Police Executive Research Forum say shooting in such circumstances creates an unacceptable risk to bystanders from stray gunfire or the driver losing control of the vehicle.

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.”

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Seewer reported from Toledo.