COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥 An Ohio police officer will be in court Wednesday to face charges in the shooting of Ta鈥橩iya Young, a pregnant Black mother who was killed after being accused of shoplifting.
Blendon Township police officer with murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the death of Young and the daughter she was expecting three months later.
Young was suspected of stealing alcohol on Aug. 24, 2023, when Grubb and a fellow officer approached her car. She lowered her window part-way and the other officer ordered her out. Instead, she rolled her car forward toward Grubb, who .
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Grubb on Tuesday.
of the encounter showed an officer at the driver鈥檚 side window telling Young she was accused of shoplifting and ordering her out of the car. Young protested and both officers cursed at her and yelled at her to get out. Young could be heard asking them, 鈥淎re you going to shoot me?鈥
Then she turned the steering wheel to the right, the car rolled slowly forward and Grubb fired his gun. Moments later, after the car came to a stop against the building, they broke the driver鈥檚 side window. Police said they tried to save her life, but she was mortally wounded.
Sean Walton, the family鈥檚 attorney, said Grubb had escalated the encounter by unnecessarily drawing his gun when he first confronted Young .
Brian Steel, president of the union representing Blendon Township police, said Grubb had to make a split-second decision, 鈥渁 reality all too familiar for those who protect our communities.鈥
Some departments around the U.S. at or from moving vehicles, and law enforcement groups such as the 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鈥檚 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 鈥渞easonably 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.鈥
A full-time officer with the township since 2019, Grubb has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting.
