Blendon Twp. police allege pregnant woman stole liquor, was shot trying to run over officer

Blendon Township police Chief John Belford said Friday that a 21-year-old pregnant woman was shot Thursday evening after two officers confronted her outside a Kroger store for allegedly stealing liquor and she tried to drive over one officer.

Ta'Kiya Young, 21, of Columbus, died from the shooting, as did her unborn child. Young's family said she was pregnant with her third child, a girl, and was due to give birth in November. She also has two sons, a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old.

The shooting, which occurred around 6:20 p.m. Thursday outside the Kroger located at 5991 S. Sunbury Road, is being investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Belford said in a video statement Friday afternoon that the officers involved are on paid administrative leave while the BCI investigation is ongoing. The officers' names will not be released due to Marsy's Law, Belford said, following similar actions taken by Columbus police and the Franklin County Sheriff's office after recent shootings.

There is body camera footage of the incident, Belford said, and the police department and BCI are working to process that video and make the necessary redactions required by Marsy's Law. The earliest the video will be released is Monday.

Belford said the two officers were in the Kroger parking lot helping someone who was having a car problem when a store employee alerted them to Young, alleging she had taken multiple bottles of alcohol from the store without paying.

Store employees later told police there were multiple other people who had been allegedly stealing items, but they had fled in other vehicles.

Young got into a four-door Lexus sedan that did not have a license plate and was illegally parked in a handicapped spot, Belford said.

One officer went to the driver's side of the car, Belford said, and gave Young verbal commands to stop. The other officer moved in front of Young's vehicle, he said.

In all, Belford said the officers gave more than a dozen verbal orders to Young, who had started the vehicle, put it in gear and accelerated.

"The officer who was directly in the path of the oncoming car fired one shot through the front windshield," Belford said. "The body camera footage I’ve reviewed also confirms the officer was directly in the path of the car."

Belford said officers ran after the car for about 50 feet until it jumped the curb and stopped on the sidewalk by a brick wall and columns outside a door to the grocery and near a walk-up pharmacy window. The car was locked, so officers broke the driver's window to immediately begin giving Young first aid.

A passerby, who is an emergency room doctor, also assisted police until paramedics arrived, Belford said.

Young was taken to Mount Carmel St. Ann's hospital, where she died. An autopsy is being conducted by the Franklin County Coroner's office.

Belford said the officer who shot Young only discovered she was pregnant after the shooting.

"Every loss of life is a tragedy. The family of the woman who died is understandably upset. I’ve personally spoken with a member of the family, and I will continue to keep them informed about what’s happening," Belford said.

"The community deserves to know the truth. We’re committed to transparency, and we will be accountable for everything we do," he said.

Prominent gun violence activist was teacher of killed woman

Malissa Thomas-St. Clair, co-founder of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children, said at a small demonstration by about 15 people outside the Kroger late Friday afternoon that she was Young's teacher.

A teacher at Columbus City Schools' Champion Elementary, Thomas-St. Clair said she remembers Young as tenacious and someone who worked through adversity in her life toward graduation from high school.

"Young people make mistakes, but because I make mistakes, I should learn from them and not die from them," she said.

While her organization's advocacy typically focuses on the plague of street violence, she said she thinks Blendon Township police "got it wrong" when they shot Young.

"When I'm hearing that shoplifting now equates with losing your life — and you're pregnant?" Thomas-St. Clair said. "That deserves outrage."

Fraternal Order of Police: 'Guns not the only danger officers face'

In a Friday statement issued by Brian Steel, executive vice president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, said "guns are not the only danger officers face." He said vehicles are also deadly weapons when used with the intent of harm.

"But regardless of the circumstances, the death in this case is heartbreaking," Steel said. "The lodge extends its condolences to the family for its loss of this young woman."

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blendon Twp. police allege slain pregnant woman tried to run over cop