WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The community is speaking out after additional surveillance video was released by Blendon Township police Friday from the incident at Kroger that led to an officer shooting and killing Ta’Kiya Young and her unborn child.
"It's just more evidence that a senseless murder occurred,” Sean Walton, family attorney for the Young family, said.
The newly released video showed Young walking around State Liquor inside Kroger taking several bottles of alcohol and putting them in her bag. She then left the store with two other women. Police said she didn’t pay for the alcohol.
"Petty theft, theft whatever you want to call it, it has no bearing on the shooting that occurred out in the parking lot,” Walton said.
Surveillance video then showed a store employee running out to get the officers’ attention. Two officers who were already at the scene for an unrelated matter then approached Young’s car. One stopped in front of the car and the other stood by the driver’s side door.
"He raised his gun when the car was not in motion and so he had an intent to kill,” Walton said.
About a second after the car started moving, the officer in front fired one shot.
"The police escalated the situation,” Heather Johnson, co-founder of Justice, Unity, and Social Transformation (JUST), said.
Johnson said everything that’s happened since this incident has been tough for her to watch.
"Seeing how folks are going against Ta'Kiya Young and the way that she's being criminalized, its demoralizing,” Johnson said.
Johnson said they’re calling for the officer who killed Ta’Kiya to be brought to justice.
"We're not asking. we're demanding that that officer be arrested and have charges pressed on him just like any other civilian,” Johnson said.
Johnson hopes people will be more sensitive to the Young family and what they’re going through, especially for the sake of her two sons.
"At the end of the day, two young boys will have to be raised by their grandmother… What will it take for this to be the last one?" Johnson said.