Ohio policeman acquitted of murdering pregnant woman Ta’Kiya Young suspected of shoplifting

An Ohio policeman has been acquitted of murdering a pregnant woman he fatally shot in a supermarket car park.

Connor Grubb opened fire at Ta’Kiya Young as he and another officer told her to get out of a vehicle on suspicion of shoplifting alcohol on 24 August 2023.

Bodycam video shows her car rolling slowly towards Mr Grubb outside the Kroger store in a suburb of Columbus. In footage, she could be heard asking: “Are you going to shoot me?”

The officer argued it was self-defence, and the jury found him not guilty of two counts of murder, two charges of felonious assault, and two counts involuntary manslaughter. Young, 21, was around 25 weeks pregnant. Her unborn daughter also died.

Mr Grubb declined to testify at the trial, which featured 17 witnesses, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

Sean Walton, a lawyer representing the Young family, called the verdict “an American tragedy”, NBC News reported.