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Body camera footage of controversial fatal police

A
shooting
Blendon Township
in Ohio released to the public
shot Ta'Kiya Young, Kroger Sunbury Road on Aug
police officer fatally 21, at a on 24
By Lawrence Richard Fox News
Published September 1, 2023 8:43am EDT | Updated September 1, 2023 12:17pm EDT

Blendon Township Police Department releases bodycam footage showing moments before deadly shooting
Newly released bodycam footage shows two Blendon Township Police Department officers responded to an alleged theft that resulted in a fatal shooting in
Westerville, Ohio.

Body camera footage showing the events leading up to a police officer fatally shooting a
pregnant Black woman in Westerville, Ohio, was released to the public on Friday.

Ta'Kiya Young, a 21-year-old mother of two kids and pregnant with a third, went to a Kroger
in the suburb of Blendon Township on Aug. 24, but never returned after she was suspected
of shoplifting. Police approached Young outside the store, and she was ultimately shot
and killed in the parking lot. Her unborn daughter did not survive.

Her family said the shooting "should have never ever, ever happened." Police described
Young's death as an "unfortunate loss of life" but said she was accelerating her car toward
an officer.

The events leading up to the shooting were recorded on the Ohio officers’ bodycam, and
the Blendon Township Police Department released the footage to set the record straight.

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Blendon Township (Ohio) Police Department officers responded to an alleged theft when the incident took a deadly turn.
(Blendon Township Police Department)

Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford briefly recounted the events that transpired in
a video statement the day after the shooting. The video released on Friday appeared to
confirm his description.

The video, narrated by retired Sheriff Russ Martin, appears to show two Blendon Township
officers who were initially at the scene helping someone who was locked out of their car.

In the video,Kroger employee can be seen approaching the officers and informing them
a
several people had stolen items from the store. The employee then points the officers to
Young, who was sitting "in a Lexus sedan with no license tags parked in a handicapped
spot right in front of the store," Belford said.

The video shows one of the officers initially approaching the black Lexus and the other
abandoning the initial locked vehicle to assist his partner. The second officer is seen
circling the Lexus as the first officer can be heard instructing Young to get out of the
vehicle.

A Blendon Township police officer begins speaking with Young through her driver window, instructing her to exit the
vehicle. (Blendon Township Police Department)

A Blendon Township Police Department officer repeatedly bangs on the car door and window while instructing Young to
comply. (Blendon Township Police Department)

As the Blendon Township police officer speaks with Young, who is not adhering to the officer's instructions, a second
first
officer circles around to get in front of the vehicle. (Blendon Township Police Department)

Both officers can be heard on the video instructing her to stop multiple times and to exit
the vehicle, but she appears noncompliant. The second officer also draws a gun, the video
shows.

She can be heard shouting back, "What? Are you going to shoot me?" before she begins to
put the car into gear and accelerate.

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

Two Blendon Township Police Department officers attempted to stop an alleged thief when she began driving away.
(Blendon Township Police Department)

The video seems to confirm that explanation as it appears to show the officer at the front
of the vehicle being dragged several feet, then firing a single shot through the windshield.

The body camera footage appears to show a Blendon Township police officer was physically dragged by the car before the
officer fired a single shot. (Blendon Township Police Department)

An overlapping image shows both officers' perspectives during the tense moment. (Blendon Township Police Department)

The video shows the car continuing for about 50 feet before it stops at the front of the
building.

Both officers race after the vehicle on foot, and one can be heard alerting dispatch that
there were "shots fired."

The Lexus rolled through the parking lot, with the Blendon Township Police Department officers chasing on foot, until it
came to rest. (Blendon Township Police Department)

Both Blendon Township officers begin hitting the door and window repeatedly until it breaks. (Blendon Township Police
Department)

Young appears slumped over as both officers hit the window, causing it to break.

Police Chief Belford previously explained the officers successfully broke into the vehicle,
retrieved Young and began administering medical assistance. An emergency room doctor
who happened to be at the scene also helped.

Young appeared slumped over as the police officers attempted to break into the vehicle. (Blendon Township Police
Department)

One Blendon Township police officer successfully breaks open the driver window. (Blendon Township Police Department)

Young died at St. Ann’s hospital, police said.

The names of the two officers, or their ages and races, have not been released. They are
on paid administrative leave while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation reviews the
shooting, a standard procedure.

Police have not released further details on the shooting.

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Earlier in the week, before the video was publicly released, Young’s grandmother, Nadine,
said the shooting "was just wrong."

"I’m a mess because it’s just tragic," Nadine Young said Wednesday at a press conference,
WSYX reported. "It shouldn't have ever, ever, ever happened. She shouldn't be gone. It was
just wrong."

She also described her granddaughter as family-oriented and loving, as well as an older
sister and mother.

Young was expected to give birth to a daughter in November. The girl would have been the
young family’s first as she was the mother of two young sons, ages 6 and 3.

"She was so excited to have this little girl," Nadine Young said. "She has her two little boys,
but she was so fired up to have this girl. She is going to be so missed."

Inaddition to the bodycam's contents, the timing of the video's release has also come
under scrutiny.

Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said the video’s release was delayed as a small staff processed it and properly
redacted certain footage in accordance with Ohio law. (Blendon Township Police Department)

The police chief said the video’s release was delayed as a staff processed it and redacted
certain footage in accordance with Ohio law.

"Following an officer involved shooting in Blendon Township last Thursday, we are

currently preparing the body camera video for public release," he said. "This process
includes the following steps: Identifying and applying the required legal redactions,
proving the redactions to legal counsel to ensure compliance with the law, providing the
investigating agency with what will be released to minimize any potential interference with
their investigation, and then allowing the family of the woman who died the opportunity to
see the video before the public does."

The statement added, "Blendon Township has a small staff, but we are still committed to
abiding by Ohio public records law, which requires records like body camera video to be
released in a reasonable amount of time."

The family's lawyer, Sean Walton, suggested the police department chose to delay the
release of the bodycam video to minimize potential scrutiny and media attention.

"We have to understand how unfair this process is and why we have to push for
accountability," Walton said during the press conference. "The only victims here are Ta'Kiya
and her unborn child."

Ahead of Wednesday's press conference, Walton released a statement calling for the
bodycam footage to be immediately released.

"Ta’Kiyah was state of flight from the moment she was allegedly pointed out to the
in a
officers until her life was taken," the statement read, per WSYX. "She is the victim here, and
we demand accountability for the loss of two precious lives — Ta’Kiyah and her unborn
daughter. The officer responsible must be identified, the body camera footage must be
released immediately, and the officer and this department must be held accountable for
his escalation of this incident that led to their deaths."

Family members, friends and community members attend a rally in the name of Donovan Lewis, a 20-year-old Black man,
was shot and killed while in bed by Columbus, Ohio, police as they were serving an arrest warrant on Aug. 30, 2022.
(Gaelen Morse/Getty Images)

NAACP Columbus President Nana Watson urged police on Monday to release the video.

"The community becomes more anxious, and once the community becomes more
anxious, things begin to escalate and not in a good way. We want them to release it now,"
Watson said.

A police shooting in the city last year was met with protests and marches. Donovan Lewis,
a 20-year-old Black man, was shot and killed while in bed by Columbus police while they
attempted to serve an arrest warrant on Aug. 30, 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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