The second Blendon Township police officer who tried to arrest 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young the day she was fatally shot testified Friday in Connor Grubb's murder trial.
Sgt. Erik Moynihan was one of the final three witnesses in the first week of the trial. The other two witnesses were experts called by the defense and prosecution, who disagreed about Grubb's movements and actions on the day he shot Young in August 2023.
Moynihan testified on Friday afternoon. He is a 17-year veteran of the Blendon Township Police Department and helped train Grubb when he was first hired in 2019. Moynihan was at the Kroger store parking lot on Aug. 24, 2023 responding to a nearby car crash when a Kroger employee told him Young had just stolen liquor from the store.
Moynihan confronted Young in her car, a Lexus Sedan, from the passenger side, repeatedly telling her to get out of the car. That's when Grubb, who was nearby helping a woman get into her locked car, approached Young's vehicle.
Other officer says he didn't view Ta'Kiya Young as a threat
Unlike Grubb, Moynihan did not draw his gun or fire the weapon.
Grubb stepped in front of Young's car and drew his weapon. Within seconds, Young activated her turn signal, turned her steering wheel away from Grubb and started to move away.
Grubb shot through the windshield, striking Young in her torso. The single shot killed Young and her unborn child.
Moynihan said Grubb shooting Young surprised him.
"From my perspective and my point of view at that time, I didn't have a threat towards me," Moynihan said.
When Young began pulling away, Moynihan had one hand on top of Young's open window and quickly placed another on her car's door handle.
"So it wasn't until I get pulled alongside the car, and then realized that a shot's fired and bumping officer Grubb, that I realized he drew his weapon and fired. So then I did the same, thinking I missed something," Moynihan said.
Whether or not Grubb killed Young isn't in question.
During the trial, the jury is weighing whether or not Grubb was justified for killing Young. Throughout this case, special prosecutors from Montgomery County are arguing Grubb was not justified, while Grubb’s defense team will argue he was justified.
Moynihan was asked by Grubb's defense team whether situations can escalate from "zero to lethal" in a matter of seconds. He agreed and said perceiving Young's vehicle as a threat while he was in front of it would follow proper training.
“You're trained to respond to that threat, and if that means using deadly force, those are your actions that you have to justify, and there's a means to do that, but you may engage that threat until you stop the threat in that case," Moynihan said.
Moynihan said Grubb followed proper training by aiming for "center mass."
Moynihan explained that a vehicle traveling at slower speeds, like Young's was, could cause serious injuries. He said in 2023 during a separate incident, he was turning left and was briefly distracted by his police car's computer.
Moynihan said he struck a pedestrian in a cross walk while going about 12 miles per hour. He said the crash left the civilian with a head injury and a broken leg.
Grubb said in a statement to investigators after the fatal shooting that he feared for his life when Young first struck him.
Moynihan wasn't asked whether Grubb followed proper training by stepping in front of Young's car. Defense Attorney Kaitlyn Stephens did ask Moynihan why Grubb may have done so.
Moynihan explained that Grubb was trying to position himself to provide cover to Moynihan. He said Grubb couldn't have done that from the passenger side of the vehicle without placing Moynihan and himself at risk of potential crossfire if they both fired their weapon.
Expert witnesses disagree on Grubb's injuries and ability to move out of the car's way.
On Thursday, the defense team called an expert witness out of order due to scheduling conflicts. Geoffrey Desmoulin called in to the trial by Zoom from Vancouver, Canada.
Desmoulin is a former reality TV host from the 2010s show "Deadliest Warriors." Desmoulin also has experience testifying for both defense and prosecution attorneys during police shooting trials.
On Friday, the prosecution called Jeremy Bauer as their expert. Both Bauer and Desmoulin say they are incident reconstruction experts and experts on "human movement."
Bauer's experience comes from analyzing sports movement, as well as shooting and crash reconstruction.
Bauer's testimony was almost a rebuttal to Desmoulin's.
Unlike Bauer, Desmoulin didn't examine why Grubb stepped in front of Young's Lexus Sedan in the first place or how that choice factored into the fatal shooting.
Desmoulin said Grubb didn't have time to move out of the car's way.
"It would not have been possible for Officer Grubb to react quickly enough after sensing continuous forward movement of the Lexus driven by Ms. Young to move out of the travel path of the vehicle before his lower body was contacted by its front bumper," Desmoulin said.
Desmoulin said Grubb could have faced serious bone fractures or head injuries after Young struck him with her car. Grubb suffered minor injuries to his shin and knees, which Desmoulin testified came from Young's car.
Desmoulin also created an animation to demonstrate the findings from a report he created.
Bauer disagreed, arguing the injuries came from when Grubb appeared to fall to the ground on his knees. After shooting Young, Grubb smashed out her window to get her out of the car, shattering glass around the parking lot and sidewalk.
Bauer tried to discredit Desmoulin's animation. He said it wasn't a true representation that could prove Grubb's movements. He pointed out that in the animation, Grubb's leg remains static.
Bauer argued that Grubb could have moved out of the way of the vehicle.
The defense objected and Judge David Young called out the prosecution for asking Bauer questions that speculated about Grubb’s intentions.
Testimony is expected to continue Monday.
