The criminal proceedings against Ohio police officer Connor Grubb resumed in Columbus on Thursday, as jurors continued to hear evidence in the fatal shooting of Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old pregnant woman who died during a confrontation in August 2023. Young, who was expecting a daughter due later that year, was shot once through the windshield of her vehicle in a grocery store parking lot—a shooting that has since become the center of a complex legal and forensic dispute.
Prosecutors have charged Grubb with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and felonious assault, arguing that the officer’s use of force lacked any lawful justification. The court has not yet been told whether Grubb intends to testify, though a written statement he provided was entered into the record the day before.
The incident unfolded in the parking lot of a suburban Columbus supermarket after store employees reported that Young was suspected of taking alcohol without paying. Grubb and another Blendon Township officer approached her vehicle. According to body-camera footage, Young lowered her window part way as the second officer directed her to exit the car. She refused and instead eased the vehicle forward. At that moment, Grubb—positioned in front of the car—fired a single round that struck her in the chest.
In opening remarks last week, the prosecution asserted that Young did not pose an imminent threat, and therefore the officer’s use of deadly force was unjustified. Defense counsel countered that Young accelerated toward Grubb, placing him in immediate danger. In the written account read aloud to jurors by an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent, Grubb described stepping in front of Young’s car to assist his colleague and to safeguard nearby shoppers. He said he drew his weapon after hearing Young refuse commands, and that when the vehicle moved forward, he believed he had been struck and lifted off the ground.
To reinforce this position, the defense presented Geoffrey Desmoulin, a forensic specialist and principal of GTD Scientific, who testified that once the car began moving, Grubb would not have had enough time or physical space to avoid being hit. Desmoulin’s analysis, rooted in injury biomechanics and incident reconstruction, suggested that the officer’s account of being unable to evade the advancing vehicle was consistent with the available evidence.
The jury also viewed the body-camera footage earlier in the week. The video shows Young questioning the officers’ commands and asking, “Are you going to shoot me?” Moments later, she turned her wheel, the vehicle crept forward towards the officer pointing his gun, and the gunshot followed. After the car collided with the front of the store, officers broke the driver’s window in an attempt to reach her. Despite their efforts, Young died shortly afterward at the hospital, as did her unborn daughter.
Medical testimony on Thursday focused on the viability of the fetus. Dr. Kent Harshbarger, the coroner for Montgomery County, told the court that the fetus was approximately 25 to 28 weeks old and showed no indication of having died prior to the shooting. He added that an infant of that gestational age could potentially survive outside the womb with medical intervention.
Edward Obayashi, a national use-of-force expert and attorney who specializes in vehicle-related police shootings, said that while the officer who shot Young may have reasonably feared for his safety, his procedure of standing in front of her car went against all of his police training..
Officer Grubb, who has served full-time with the Blendon Township force since 2019, was placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting. His attorneys have publicly maintained that the use of force was reasonable under the circumstances, emphasizing the danger posed by a vehicle moving in the officer’s direction. By contrast, Sean Walton, counsel for Young’s family, has argued that Grubb escalated the encounter unnecessarily by drawing his weapon before the situation demanded such a response.
Police officer Connor Grub found not guilty on all charges in the shooting death of Takai Young, sparking mixed reactions from family and community.
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