November 23, 2025
Jury finds officer’s actions justified as family denounces decision and a separate civil case proceeds.
An Ohio jury has acquitted Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb of all charges in the 2023 death of Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old Black woman who was seven months pregnant. Grubb had been indicted on murder and additional counts after firing a single shot that resulted in Young’s death, but jurors concluded his use of force was legally justified.
The confrontation unfolded in August 2023 in the parking lot of a Kroger near Columbus, where Young was suspected of stealing bottles of alcohol. Body-camera footage shows the officer approaching Young’s vehicle with another officer and informing her she was accused of shoplifting. When she refused repeated orders to step out of the car, Grubb moved in front of the vehicle with his weapon drawn.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the video captures the moment Young accelerated, prompting Grubb to fire once through the windshield. Young later died from the gunshot wound; her unborn daughter did not survive.
Mark Collins, Grubb’s attorney, said the case was extraordinarily emotional for everyone involved. “We believe they followed the law,” he said of the jury’s verdict. Collins added that Grubb will carry the weight of his actions forever: “For the rest of his life he has to deal with this. He took a life on duty—and realized another’s life after the fact—and to walk around with that is a difficult situation.”
The courtroom erupted with grief when the decision was read. Young’s grandmother, Nadine Young, cried out in disbelief, saying, “It’s not right! This is not right!”
Sean Walton, the attorney representing Young’s relatives, condemned the police response that led to her death. Calling the shooting “a tragedy that should never have happened,” Walton argued that Young faced an impossible situation once a gun was pointed at her. While Young had only moments to react, he said, Grubb—“who had years of training”—also made a split-second decision that escalated the outcome.
Walton criticized what he described as a pattern of officers reacting out of disproportionate fear. “You have officers who have an unreasonable and irrational fear—with no weapons involved or folks doing very minimal behavior—that they escalate it into murder,” he said.
Special prosecutor Daniel Brandt said his team respected the jury’s choice, even as the broader implications of the case continue to draw scrutiny.
Parallel to the criminal trial, Young’s estate has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Blendon Township and its police chief of failing to properly train Grubb. The civil case, lodged in U.S. District Court in September, remains active.
While Collins insisted “this wasn’t a case motivated by racial animus,” the shooting of a pregnant Black woman—and the subsequent acquittal—has reignited longstanding concerns about policing, race, and accountability in Ohio and beyond.
RELATED CONTENT: Surveillance Footage Shows Ta’Kiya Young In Store Before Fatal Interaction With Police
