Footage of the fatal police shooting of a 21-year-old Black pregnant woman in Ohio last Thursday is expected to be released Friday, according to Blendon Township Police Department Chief John Belford.
“While legal review and video redactions are still ongoing, we will be ready to release the body camera footage of the officer involved shooting to the public by Friday after the family has had the opportunity to see it Friday morning,” he said in a statement.
Belford said that he spoke to the family of Ta’Kiya Young Wednesday. Young leaves behind a 6-year-old son, a 3-year-old son and other family members, according to the Columbus Dispatch. She was due to give birth in November.
More than two dozen of Young’s friends and family attended a candlelight vigil last Friday night.
“They didn't have to kill two lives,” said her grandmother, Nadine Young. “Her and a new baby girl she was excited about.”
In a video statement, Belford described law enforcement’s account of the fatal shooting. He said that officers from the township department were assisting a driver locked out of her car in a Kroger parking lot. While this was happening, an employee from the store told the officers that “someone who had stolen bottles of alcohol from the store was – at that moment – fleeing.”
Young, the woman the employee pointed out, reportedly got into a Lexus sedan with no license tags that was parked in front of the store in a handicapped space. Store employees later said that several suspects had been stealing items, but that they had already fled.
Police said Young had already started the car and when an officer asked her to get out, she allegedly ignored them.
“Another officer came in front of the car and also ordered the woman to get out of the car,” said Belford. “Despite being ordered to get out of the car more than a dozen times, she refused to do so.”
Instead, she allegedly accelerated forward. At this point, the officer standing directly in front of the vehicle fired a shot through the front windshield, said Belford.
“The body camera footage I’ve reviewed also confirms the officer was directly in the path of the car,” he added.
After the bullet went through the window, the car kept moving and officers followed it for around 50 feet. It came to a stop on the sidewalk outside of the store.
“Because the driver’s door had been locked, officers immediately broke the driver’s window so they could attend to the woman and begin medical assistance,” said Belford. “They also immediately called for EMS. The officer who fired the shot sprinted to his car to get a trauma kit, which he quickly employed. A passing ER doctor assisted. The woman died at St. Ann’s hospital, which was the closest ER.”
Belford said that he wanted an independent review the incident and immediately asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to handle that investigation. Both officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave.
“While this woman had previously been charged with crimes involving theft and fleeing from police, our officers did not know that at the time,” the chief said. “Following the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s work, I will do the normal review to determine if policies and procedures were followed. In every case, we hold employees accountable if they violate policies, procedures, or the law.”
In a Monday press release, Belford said that the department was preparing body camera footage for public release. He also detailed the preparation process steps.
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