Topline
Protestors in the Columbus area this holiday weekend called for the identification and arrest of a police officer who fatally shot a 21-year-old pregnant Black woman inside her car, adding to similar demands from the woman’s family, who has called the incident a “gross misuse of power and authority.”
Key Facts
Ta’Kiya Young was in a Kroger parking lot of a Columbus suburb on August 24 when two police officers approached her car and accused her of stealing liquor from the grocery store—she denied the theft and refused to leave her car after repeated orders from police, recently released police body camera footage shows.
After she asks “Are you going to shoot me?” Young turns the wheel to the right and the car moves toward one of the officers, who then fires his gun through the windshield—officers then broke the driver’s side window to render medical aid, Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford later said, though video footage of that was not released.
Young died after the shooting at St. Ann’s hospital in Westerville, Ohio, Belford said, as did her unborn third child, a daughter.
The bodycam footage of the incident was released Friday, eight days after the shooting, and it sparked local protests throughout the holiday weekend calling for the release of area surveillance footage and advocating for the arrest of the still-unnamed officer, who has been placed on leave—the second officer is back at work.
Belford, whose department includes only 14 sworn officers, said in a Facebook post the police officers involved are also considered victims of assault by Ohio law and he saw “no reason” to keep the non-shooting officer on leave, adding that Young’s death was “a tragedy.”
Sean Walton, an attorney representing Young’s family, called Young’s killing a “murder,” telling the Associated Press that her death was avoidable and that a witness later reported seeing Young put down the liquor bottles before she left the store.
Crucial Quote
“She did not commit any theft, and so these officers were not even within their right to place her under arrest, let alone take her life,” Walton said.
Key Background
Young was due to give birth to her daughter in November, her grandmother, Nadine Young, told the Columbus Dispatch. She was the mother of two boys, 6-year-old Ja’Kobie and 3-year-old Ja’Kenli. She lived with her grandmother for most of her life and was described as “”goofy” and “fun-loving.” A funeral has been scheduled for Thursday and a GoFundMe to help with expenses has raised more than $10,000. More than 100 people gathered at Goodale Park in Columbus Sunday and read out the names of community members who were killed after encounters with police. The shooting has also raised questions about the practice of firing at moving vehicles—it’s banned in New York City and within other law enforcement agencies because of the risk it poses to bystanders. Columbus police officers had fatally shot four people this summer, Axios reported before Young’s death, and in April the department said it would no longer publicly identify the officers who shoot people under a new crime victim privacy law. Police brutality in the United States, specifically against Black Americans, was thrust back into the spotlight with the 2020 death of George Floyd, who died after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than 9 minutes. Activists in major cities have called for cuts to police budgets along with major reforms, including the hiring of more Black police officers, civilian review boards and federal investigations. Black people are still more than twice as likely to be killed by police as their white counterparts, according to the Mapping Police Violence database.
Big Number
995. That’s how many people had been shot and killed by police in the 12 months ending August 28, according to the Washington Post.
Surprising Fact
In Ohio, officers are often also considered victims in police shootings. Under Marsy’s Law, meant to protect the privacy of crime victims, “there is nothing… that excludes a police officer crime victim from the definition of ‘victim,’” the Columbus Police Department said in a July press release. In Young’s case, Belford said the officers involved are considered victims of attempted assault because one had his arm partially inside the driver’s side window and the other was standing in front of the car when Young moved it forward. The practice of shielding officers’ identities in the wake of police shootings has been under increasing scrutiny in recent years—advocates say it reduces the likelihood officers will be held accountable for their actions—and it has been challenged in a Florida Supreme Court case.
Further Reading
Ta’Kiya Young’s family urges officer’s arrest after video shows him killing the pregnant Black woman (Associated Press)
Police Shootings: Black Americans Disproportionately Affected (Forbes)