Byline: Kim Bellware

The fatal shooting of a pregnant woman by Ohio police last month is drawing new scrutiny to a victim's rights law that advocates of open government say is being misused by police to hide the identity of officers involved in use-of-force cases.

The family of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young have questioned why the Blendon Township police officer who fatally shot Young in a grocery store parking lot Aug. 24 has not been publicly named by the department nor fired or criminally charged, despite what they say are clear violations of department policy caught on body-camera footage.

"If we had video evidence of a citizen committing an act that appeared to be a murder, there would not be a long investigation [beforehand]; that suspect would be identified and that suspect would be charged," said Sean Walton Jr., an attorney for Young's family.

The two officers involved in the incident are considered victims and thus cannot be identified publicly, Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said in a statement last week, citing the crime victim's rights amendment known as Marsy's Law. Belford said he would "defer any policy or employee discipline review" until the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) completed its probe.

The officer who did not fire his weapon is back on active duty after a brief leave because of the staffing needs of the roughly 15-person department, Belford said. The officer who shot Young remains on administrative leave.

Walton, along with Young's family, has objected to the delay in taking action against the officer who shot Young, whom they identified through eyewitness and badge number information as Connor Grubb. The Washington Post has not independently verified the identification.

At a news conference Wednesday, Walton criticized the way police have used Marsy's Law, saying it's not being used for victim privacy, as originally intended, but to shield police who use deadly force from public scrutiny.

"It's contrary to the public interest and it's contrary to public safety," he said.

- - -Police embrace law meant for crime victims The first Marsy's Law - named for 21-year-old Marsalee Nicholas, who was killed by her boyfriend in 1983 - passed in California in 2008 with the aim of expanding victims' rights under the state Constitution. Those rights included creating notification requirements about a defendant's...