Van Han Vu

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio police officer who shot and killed Ta’Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother who had been accused of shoplifting, was acquitted on all counts Friday, including murder. Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb had faced up to life in prison if convicted. Young’s grandmother collapsed into sobs at the decision, shouting “It’s not right! This is not right!” The judge then told Grubb he was free to go. Sean Walton, an attorney for the Young family, called it “an American tragedy,” the outcome of a dual system of justice in the U.S. He vowed to keep pursuing a lawsuit against the township and police chief, while Ta’Kiya’s grandmother Nadine Young raises her great-grandsons, now 8 and 5. “It’s also heartbreaking because what it does is it normalizes the behavior like that Connor Grubb exhibited that day, and that is not normal,” Walton said. “If you look at these recent police killings in Columbus, you have officers who have an irrational fear with no weapons involved or folks doing very minimal behavior that they escalate into a murder.” Defense attorney Mark Collins said Grubb and his family are relieved, but that it’s wrong to suggest the officer was untouched by the death of Young and her unborn daughter.