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Hundreds of furious protesters marched through the Ohio town where pregnant Ta’Kiya Young was shot dead by a police officer last month.
Protesters gave speeches in Goodale Park in downtown Columbus on Sunday before chanting “Black lives matter” as they marched through the streets to demand justice for the 21-year-old mother of two.
Cops approached Young while she was in her car in a Kroger parking lot on August 24 because they believed she was shoplifting, although the family’s attorney denies any involvement in the theft.
Shocking body camera footage shows the moment a police officer shoots through the front windshield – killing Young and his unborn child – as his car begins to slowly roll towards him.
The horrific incident in Blendon Township, north of Columbus, has caused outcry in the local community and beyond.
Ta’Kiya Young, 21, was pregnant when she was shot by a police officer while sitting in her car in a Kroger parking lot in Blendon Township, north of Columbus, Ohio, on August 24.
Hundreds of irate protesters marched Sunday night in Columbus, Ohio, the same city where the mother of two was killed last month.
Malissa Thomas St Clair, a 7th grade teacher at de Young’s high school (pictured), honored her as a student with a ‘beautiful smile’ and ‘bright brown eyes’ who ‘didn’t get a chance to develop”.
Hundreds of people gathered in Goodale Park at 6 p.m. for a protest organized by the People’s Justice Project.
Among the speakers was de Young’s high school teacher Malissa Thomas St Clair, 48, who told DailyMail.com they remained “very close” after graduating.
She said Young’s family were “still in disbelief” and felt they couldn’t truly mourn her death until they knew the name of the police officer who killed her.
“Ta’Kiya Young’s family deserves to know who killed their daughter,” the Columbus-born teacher told DailyMail.com, adding that she leaves behind two sons aged three and five, a sister, a father, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.
“I think it’s unfair that the family doesn’t know who the murderer is.”
St Clair warned that she was not in favor of the officer’s name being made public if it would harm her family, but stressed that those close to Young had a right to know his name.
Young was seven months pregnant when she died and was “thrilled” to have her first daughter join her family.
“She was due in early November,” St Clair said. “She had a baby in her stomach.
“She had already named her daughter, she already has two sons and she was really looking forward to becoming a mother to a daughter, it was something very special for her.”
Young was a mother of two young children and she was pregnant when she died. Her unborn child was also killed in the shooting
St Clair said Young overcame “adversity” in her youth that “could have toughened anyone else” – but described her as “joyful, engaging and hardworking”.
“She had a smile that would light up the room,” the professor said. “She helped other people who were bullied – that was her big thing. She would always stand up for the underdogs.
St Clair said Young came to see her when she became pregnant aged 16 – but ‘promised’ she would still finish high school and go to university, which she did do.
Speaking at the protest, St Clair also slammed people who claimed Young “used his vehicle as a weapon” against the officer who shot him.
“This vehicle was not going more than 3 km/h,” she said. “That man (the cop) wouldn’t have died because of those miles per hour.
“She was stepping away because she knew she was going to die. She was trying to save her daughter’s life.
‘Ta’Kiya Young was murdered. Ta’Kiya Young’s baby was murdered.
Several other speakers took the stage, including the organizer of the event, Raman Obey, who castigated the “police violence”.
“We are here because people have lost their lives due to police escalation, police militarization and police brutality in general,” he said.
“And that added pressure of being pregnant – I can’t even begin to imagine what she was thinking at the time…but it wasn’t until the second police pulled up in front of that car that it turned into a tragedy.”
“This baby’s last words were, ‘Are you going to shoot me? »
Another organizer, Emily Cole, pointed out that the officer who shot Young has not yet been named or arrested.
“They (the police) can hide their name and not face the community,” she said.
“These families are getting no justice, no accountability, and they can’t even sue because of their partial immunity.”
After the demonstration in the park, the number of protesters increased and they took to the streets chanting “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace”.
Many carried banners with Young’s name, along with others killed by cops in America.
Young’s family has requested the arrest of the police officer responsible for his death, his attorney Sean Walton said.
Sunday protest organizers Raman Obey (right) and Emily Cole (left) gave impassioned speeches on stage in Goodale Park on Sunday before protesters marched through the streets
Shocking body camera footage shows the moment a police officer fires through the windshield – killing Young and his unborn child – as his car begins to slowly roll towards him.
Walton said the body camera video clearly shows the shooting was unjustified.
“The video only confirmed their fears that Ta’Kiya was wrongfully murdered…and it was just heartbreaking for them to see Ta’Kiya taken from life in such ridiculous circumstances,” Walton told AP.
“Ta’Kiya’s family is heartbroken.”