West News Wire: In Ohio, police have made body camera footage of the fatal shooting of Black pregnant woman Ta’Kiya Young available to the public. This has infuriated the public and reignited calls for an end to deadly police violence in the country.
The 21-year-old was killed on August 24 at a grocery store parking lot in Blendon Township, a suburb of Columbus, the state capital of Ohio, according to video released on Friday. According to the authorities, Young’s unborn child died in the incident.
According to Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford, the confrontation was a “tragedy” that started when officers attempted to apprehend Young after she was charged with theft.
Young’s family, however, has referred to the murder as “avoidable,” a “gross abuse of power and authority,” and a “hateful act.”
“This incident goes beyond the obvious policy violations that occurred,” the family said in a statement, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch newspaper. “After seeing the video footage of her death, this is clearly a criminal act.”
The US has seen mass protests in recent years against deadly police violence, including the 2020 killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Advocates have continued to demand accountability and an end to anti-Black racism.
An employee is heard telling a police officer in the parking lot of a Kroger’s grocery store that Young had shoplifted in the body camera footage that was made public on Friday.
Young’s parked automobile was approached by the police, who was at the moment assisting another individual in the parking lot, and instructed to exit.
She inquires, “For what?” before denying taking anything. The question “Are you going to shoot me?”
The vehicle then drives ahead, striking a second cop who was standing in front of it as he jumped to the side as he fired a single shot.
The body camera footage then shows the car slow down but continue to move forward into a wall as the officers run beside it. They then break the car’s window to gain access.
Before paramedics came, Belford claimed in a statement on Friday that the cops attempted to give first aid. Young was given the fatal diagnosis at a local hospital.
Her unborn girl was due in November, according to her family. According to the family, Young had two additional children.
Due to an Ohio rule that protects the identity of crime victims, police have not disclosed the identities of the two policemen.
Both of the officers engaged in the fatal event, according to the police, fit within this category.
They said that when the automobile accelerated, one cop had his arm inside Young’s window, which is considered assault. They claimed that the other cop had been the target of an attempted criminal assault.
Chanda Brown, the attorney for Young’s family, said she did not see any “justification” for the officers using deadly force in a statement to the local media on Friday.
With regard to the footage that was made public, Brown remarked, “I saw a young woman get killed.”
“I didn’t see any defence of the police officer in that video,” the viewer said.
The event, according to Ramon Obey, the People’s Justice Project’s principal organiser, proved “property was deemed more valuable than Black life.”
Obey demanded justice for Young and her unborn child in a statement on Friday. “Black women deserve more, this fatal encounter with the police cannot be minimised,” Obey added.
