Ohio Officer acquitted in killing of pregnant Black woman

The Ohio officer, Conner Grab, who shot and killed Takiya Young, a pregnant Black mother, was cleared of all charges, including murder.

Grab, a police officer in the town of Blandon, faced the possibility of life imprisonment if convicted. Young’s grandmother, upon hearing the verdict, said it was not right.

Sean Walton, the lawyer for Young’s family, called the outcome “an American tragedy” and the result of a dual justice system in the U.S.

He promised to continue pursuing a lawsuit against the town and its police chief, while Young’s grandmother raises her grandchildren, now aged 8 and 5.

Walton stated: “It’s heartbreaking because what this does is normalize behavior like that shown by Conner Grab that day—and that should never be normal.”

The attorney added that recent police killings in Columbus often involve officers who, even when unarmed, respond with unreasonable fear, or individuals who do very little but are still killed.

Mark Collins, a defense attorney, also said that Grab and his family may feel relieved, but it would be wrong to claim that the officer had no impact on the deaths of Young and her unborn daughter.

Grab did not plead guilty to murder, manslaughter, or criminal assault in the August 2023 killing of 21-year-old Takiya Young. Police body camera footage showed Young refusing to exit her parked car outside a grocery store in suburban Columbus. She then turned the wheel to the right, causing the vehicle to move slowly toward Grab, who fired a shot through the windshield, striking her in the chest.

David Young, a Franklin County appeals court judge with no relation to Takiya, dismissed four of ten charges related to the death of Young’s unborn child and agreed with the defense that prosecutors had not provided evidence that Grab knew Young was seven months pregnant when he shot her.

Takiya Young, a 21-year-old Black woman, was shot on August 24, 2023, inside her car in a grocery store parking lot. Her unborn child did not survive.

Young was killed by a bullet to the heart; the medical examiner stated that her fetus was between 25 and 28 weeks old at the time of her death.