COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police released more body camera video from officers and surveillance footage from a Kroger grocery store on Friday, showing the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young.
Young, who was pregnant, died on Aug. 24 after being shot by an officer in the parking lot of the Kroger, located at 5991 Sunbury Rd. in Blendon Township. Her unborn daughter did not survive.
Surveillance video from inside the state liquor store shows Young putting several bottles of liquor into a bag she was carrying. The Blendon Township Police Department said two other unidentified women also placed bottles in their bags.
Young was inside the liquor store for just over five minutes before walking out with the two other women and setting off the theft alarms.
Young and the two women then promptly leave Kroger.
Surveillance video of the store’s parking lot shows Young heading toward her vehicle, a black Lexus, that was parked in a handicapped spot near the store's front entrance. The officers’ cruiser was parked nearby, where two officers were assisting someone in the parking lot.
The two other women got into a different car and left, according to police.
A Kroger employee then informed officers that people were fleeing the store with stolen items, Police Chief John Belford said.
An officer is seen speaking to someone near Young’s car before he approaches the Lexus.
Body camera video released on Sept. 1 shows one of two officers walking to the driver’s side of the vehicle Young was in. The other officer was seen walking in front of the vehicle.
The officers are heard telling Young to get out of the car multiple times. Young was heard responding to the officers, saying "For what?"
After a brief conversation and refusing to get out of her vehicle, Young put the car in gear and began driving the vehicle forward with the officer directly in the vehicle's path. The officer fired one shot through the front windshield and struck her.
Shots were fired less than one minute after she walked out of the store.
Young's car traveled about 50 feet before coming to a stop on the sidewalk outside the store.
One of the officers is seen breaking the window to get the driver's door open.
Additional body camera footage released on Friday shows the officers rendering aid to Young. 10TV is withholding from showing this video due to its graphic nature.
In the newly released video, an officer is seen beginning to pull Young out by her arm. The vehicle then begins to move again due to her foot being on the gas pedal. The vehicle then comes to a rest against the store.
Young is seen falling out of the vehicle and before officers are seen pulling her onto the sidewalk.
An officer then removed the bag from her arm and began placing her in handcuffs. One of the officers runs to his cruiser to get a medical kit and returns to Young where he and the officer begin rendering aid roughly 90 seconds after shots were fired. A little over two minutes later an officer then begins chest compressions.
“This was a tragic situation for everyone,” Belford said. “We recognize that these videos will create more discussion and even anger by people who have passionate feelings for or against the officer’s actions. But we’re simply complying with our promise of transparency and our obligation to release public records as required by state law.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation into the fatal shooting.
The officer who fired the shot, as well as another officer at the scene were both placed on administrative leave following the shooting. The officer who did not fire the shots was later returned to duty after a review of the footage.
Anyone with information on the identity of the two women with Young is urged to call or text Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
Nadine Young, Ta'Kiya's paternal grandmother, said the video of Ta’Kiya’s violent death was heart-wrenching to watch, the shooting "void of any humanity or decency at all."
Nadine said she believes her granddaughter feared for her safety.
“I believe he was a bully," she said at a news conference on Wednesday, referring to the officer who shot Ta'Kiya. “He came at her like a bully, and that scared her with that baby in her stomach.”
Sean Walton, the family’s lawyer, said the officer had no reason to even point his gun at Ta’Kiya, let alone fire it.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation into the fatal shooting.