COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Blendon Township chief of police says the department is beginning the disciplinary review process for an officer who was recently indicted for fatally shooting a pregnant woman last year.
Officer Connor Grubb was charged on four counts each of murder and felonious assault and two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of Ta’Kiya Young.
He has been on administrative leave since the shooting last August.
“While the independent investigation process has ensured that no one at Blendon Township has seen the evidence gathered by BCI or spoken with Officer Grubb about the incident, we’re beginning the disciplinary review process,” Blendon Township Chief of Police John Belford said. “Ohio law, and our contract with the FOP, require us to take several administrative steps before doing this. Importantly, no one at Blendon Township has passed any judgment on whether Officer Grubb acted within the law. However, since people who’ve been indicted may not legally possess a firearm, the indictment against him leaves us with no choice but to begin the disciplinary process.”
Young was fatally shot on Aug. 24, 2023, inside a vehicle in the Kroger parking lot on Sunbury Road.
Before the shooting, a Kroger employee flagged down two officers in the parking lot, who were there on an unrelated matter, about multiple people fleeing from the store with stolen items. One of those people was Young, according to Belford.
Young was in a vehicle when the officers told her to get out, but refused. One of the officers was standing in front of the vehicle when Young put the car in gear and accelerated toward him. The officer fired his weapon through the windshield, striking Young.
The report says Young was 25 to 28 weeks pregnant when the shooting happened. Her unborn child did not survive.
Grubb's name was withheld since the shooting because of Marsy’s Law. It was released on Tuesday following the indictment. Belford says this was required by Ohio law until he was publicly identified by prosecutors after the grand jury’s decision.