Ohio Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Pregnant Black Woman Indicted For Murder: Report

A Blendon Township police officer out of Ohio who has been accused of fatally shooting a pregnant woman was indicted on murder charges.

Per 'NBC News,' officer Connor Grubb reportedly shot 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young last year in a Kroger grocery parking lot following reports that she had shoplifted. In recently released body cam footage, an officer is seen knocking on her car's windshield, demanding that she step out of the vehicle.

"Hey... out of the car," the officer gestured. "Out of the car." Reports say the deadly shooting unleashed just 24 seconds after the officers first ordered her to step out of the car.

Two officers proceeded to approach the shoplifting female suspect, who appeared hesitant to exit her vehicle. "For what?" Young can be heard asking through a slightly rolled down window. "They said you stole stuff — do not leave."

The 21-year-old is seen beginning to rev her engine and turn her wheel, as if she's going to attempt to escape.

"I didn't steal," she responded.

In an effort to keep her from leaving, an officer stood at the front of her vehicle, now with his weapon drawn, prompting her to ask, "Are you gonna shoot me?" As the vehicle appeared to move forward, a single shot was aimed at the windshield. Young was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital where she later died.

"Despite being ordered to get out of the car more than a dozen times, she refused to do so," Blendon Township police chief, John Belford, explained. "I wanted a thorough and independent review of this incident, that's why I immediately asked the Ohio bureau of criminal investigation to handle the investigation."

"Our department is fully cooperating with them. Out of an abundance of caution, I placed both officers on administrative leave," the chief concluded. Young was pronounced dead shortly before 7:45 p.m., per Franklin County Coroner's office.

Per the news outlet, Grubb was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of murder, including four counts of felonious assault and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The victim's family attorney, Sean Walton, said Grubb did not de-escalate the situation the way officers are trained to.

"Everything he did escalated that situation, and that's why Ta'Kiya was murdered," Walton defended, adding that Grubb should never have had his gun in his hand at all. Young's grandmother believes the officer should be placed behind bars for life.

"That would be justice for me, and our family and her boys," she said, per 'NBC.'

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