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Blendon Township released body camera footage Friday morning from the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young showing the moments leading up to the shooting and the moments immediately after.
The footage is from both of the body cameras of the officers who were involved in the shooting, which happened around 6:20 p.m. Aug. 24 in the parking lot of the Kroger at 5991 S. Sunbury Road.
Young, who was pregnant at the time of her death, was shot once and died at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s a short time later from her injuries. The child she was carrying, which her family has said was a daughter due in November, did not survive.
Blendon Township previously said Young and several other people shoplifted items from the store, including liquor, after which a store employee flagged down officers who were in the parking lot on an unrelated call.
In the video, a store employee can be heard telling an officer that Young, who got into a car parked caddy-corner to where the officer was trying to help someone locked out of their vehicle, had shoplifted. The officer goes to Young’s driver’s side window, which is rolled up, and tells her to stop and get out of the car, while gesturing with his hand to get out of the vehicle.
Young partially rolls down the window and says “For what?” as she has a bag over her left shoulder, which blocks her stomach from view of the officer. The second officer approaches the front of Young’s vehicle as the first officer continues to tell her to get out of the car.
“I’m not going to do that,” Young says.
The video shows Young’s vehicle moving forward, hitting the second officer, whose feet are seen off the ground when he fires a single shot through the windshield, all of which happens in about two seconds. Young’s vehicle continues moving forward until it hits the building.
At one point, shortly before the shot is fired, Young can be heard saying, “Are you going to shoot me?”
Officers are seen on the video running after Young’s vehicle and immediately breaking Young’s driver side window to get her out after it hits the side of the building.
Blendon Township Chief John Belford said in a statement Friday that within 10 seconds of getting Young out of her vehicle, officers called for paramedics. Within 70 seconds, a chest seal was being applied to Young’s wound and within 90 seconds, an emergency room doctor who was in the parking lot at the time began helping police in treating Young.
The Franklin County Coroner’s office declined to disclose where Young was hit, although in a statement Friday, Chief John Belford said officers applied a chest seal to Young’s wound, indicating she was shot in the chest.
Blendon Township not naming officers involved, citing Marsy’s Law, calling them victims of assault
Blendon Township has not named either officer, citing Marsy’s Law, which aims to protect crime victims but has been cited by police agencies as the reason they can’t release the names of officers involved in such situations.
Young’s family, in a statement released Friday, identified the officer as Connor Grubb, who has been with Blendon Township since 2019, according to Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission records. Blendon Township said Friday they would not confirm the officer’s identity.
In a statement on Friday, the department said the first officer, who did not fire his weapon, had his arm and hand inside the driver’s window when Young accelerated, making him a victim of misdemeanor assault. The second officer, who fired his weapon, was hit by the vehicle and a victim of attempted vehicular assault, the statement said.
The department declined to tell The Dispatch how many years either officer has worked there, saying that doing so would effectively identify them, due to the size of the department. Of the department’s 15 officers, the one with the least amount of experience has worked there for three years.
On Friday, Belford said the officer who did not fire his weapon has returned from administrative leave and is back on patrol duty.
Police said Young was already in the vehicle when officers approached, and they were not aware she was pregnant.
Belford said in a statement Friday that redacting the video was “extremely complex.”
“Due to the fact that there were two body cameras that were constantly in motion and there were numerous reflective surfaces showing the faces of the two officers, redaction was extremely complex,” he said. “This, combined with the legal review, took a great deal of time for our small department.”
Ta’Kiya Young’s family calls for ‘swift indictment’ of Blendon Township officer who shot her
Young’s family, through their attorney, have expressed frustration that the body camera footage would not be released sooner than Friday. The family had the opportunity to view the video before it was released to the public. Young’s family has also called for the officers involved in the shooting to be named, saying the use of Marsy’s Law to not release the names is an overreach and abuse of the law.
After viewing the video Friday morning at Blendon Township government offices, Young’s family had no comment.
Chanda Brown, one of the attorneys representing the family, said the video speaks for itself.
She said she didn’t see any justification for the shooting.
“I saw a young woman get killed,” Brown said. “They’re obviously upset and devastated.”
A statement released on behalf of Young’s family about an hour after viewing the video called Young’s death “avoidable,” a “gross misuse of power and authority” and a “hateful act.”
“Ta’Kiya was a beacon of love, strength and energy to all who knew her,” the statement said. “Her tragic passing has left a void that words can’t describe, especially for her two young sons, who must now grow up without the love and guidance of their mother, and while coming to understand the circumstances that led to her homicide.”
The statement also said Young’s family wants a “swift indictment” of the officer who fired the shot.
“This incident goes beyond the obvious policy violations that occurred,” the statement said. “After seeing the video footage of her death, this is clearly a criminal act.”
Young’s family and legal team are planning a news conference for after Labor Day to address the footage, the statement said.
Police union: Bodycam video ‘very difficult to watch;’ will let grand jury decide whether shooting was justified
Brian Steel, Fraternal Order of Police Captial City Lodge No. 9 Executive Vice President, said both the actions of Young and the officer have to be taken into consideration in evaluating what took place.
“It was hard to watch. Right? There’s no getting around. It is very, very difficult to watch,” Steel said. “This is particularly true knowing that it ended with a loss of two lives. Those facts are indisputable and they are heartbreaking.”
Steel said he could understand how the shooting could be viewed as justified, but a grand jury will ultimately make any decision on whether the officer’s actions were criminal.
“The fact is Miss Young was not shot for stealing alcohol. She was shot because following an aggravated robbery, she tried to run down a fellow human being,” Steel said. “Based on my training experience, from what I saw in that video, I understand why it could be justified but again, I don’t make that decision. Ultimately, a grand jury is going to make that decision.”
Dispatch reporters Mark Ferenchik and Cole Behrens contributed to this story.
bbruner@dispatch.com
@bethany_bruner
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