Estate of pregnant Ohio mother sues township and police chief over 2023 fatal police shooting

An Ohio police officer accused of fatally shooting Ta’Kiya Young, a pregnant Black woman, in a Columbus suburb two years ago was not trained or supervised properly, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday against Blendon Township and its police chief. The estate of Young, 21, filed the suit in federal court over the August 2023 incident in the parking lot of a Kroger store in the Columbus area. Young had been suspected of shoplifting bottles of alcohol when Officer Connor M. Grubb and another officer approached her car. Young partially lowered her window and the other officer ordered her to exit.

As Young tried to move the car to the right, it rolled toward Grubb, who is accused of shooting her through the windshield. Young and the unborn daughter she was expecting as her third child were both pronounced dead at a hospital. Grubb was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter and assault last year. Grubb has pleaded not guilty, and a hearing in his criminal case is scheduled for next week.

Without reasonable verification or investigation, the officers recklessly escalated their response, singling out Young and treating her as a dangerous criminal despite the minor nature of the allegations, the complaint contends. Grubb had engaged in other aggressive encounters with community members but faced no meaningful discipline, the suit alleges. The complaint makes a single claim of municipal liability and seeks damages along with an injunction to stop policies that deprived Young and her unborn child of their constitutional rights.

Young's estate previously filed a separate lawsuit in Franklin County last month against Grubb, Kroger Co., and one store employee, alleging wrongful death and negligence.

Mark Collins, a lawyer for Grubb, said after Grubb's arraignment last year that the video showed the shooting was justified. "The reason he just discharged his weapon is because he felt the threat of serious physical injury from being hit by the car or potential death," Collins said.

Messages left Wednesday for civil and criminal lawyers for Grubb, for Blendon Township's police chief, and for a lawyer for Blendon Township, as well as for Kroger, were not immediately returned. A Kroger spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The filing comes as Ohio courts continue to scrutinize police use of force and training practices in the wake of several high-profile cases, reflecting broader nationwide questions about accountability and procedures in law enforcement.