There is still much confusion surrounding the death of a 23-year-old Black Columbus resident shot Friday by a white Franklin County Sheriff's deputy.
The Sheriff's office confirmed Sunday that Casey Goodson Jr. was shot by Deputy Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran of the department who was assigned to the United States Marshall's Service Fugitive Task Force.
"At this time, Deputy Meade is not on duty and is awaiting interview by the Columbus Division of Police Critical Incident and Response Team, which is investigating the incident," reads a statement emailed by the Sheriff's Office on Sunday afternoon.
At a press conference Friday, Peter Tobin, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, said that officers were finishing an unsuccessful search for a suspect Friday when deputies encountered Goodson.
"He was seen driving down the street waving a gun, and that's when the deputy, at some point after that, he confronted him and it went badly," Tobin said.
Goodson was not the man that the deputies were in the neighborhood searching for.
Officials did not immediately provide details about the encounter between Meade and Goodson preceding the shooting. A spokesman for the Sheriff's office says that deputies like Meade do not wear body cameras.
Members of Goodson's family contend that law enforcement's version of events are not truthful. His sister, Kaylee Harper, wrote on Facebook that Goodson was shot in the back while he was walking into his home on Friday. The family also says that Goodson has a concealed carry permit.
"They are lying! My brother literally walked across the yard, walked into the back fence to get to the side door, had his Subway and mask in one hand keys in the other, UNLOCKED AND OPENED THE DOOR and stepped in the house before shooting him," Harper wrote Saturday. "IF HE WAS SUCH A THREAT WHY DID YOU WAIT SO LONG TO SHOOT?! WHY DID TOU [sic] KILL A MAN WALKING INTO HIS OWN HOME?!"
Goodson's family is being represented by Walton + Brown LLC, a local law firm that has represented the families of several Black men killed by Columbus Police, including Tyre King, Henry Green and Jaron Thomas.
"Casey was shot and killed as he unlocked his door and entered his home," reads a press release from Walton + Brown. "His death was witnessed by his 72-year-old Grandmother and two toddlers who were near the door. Casey was coming home from a dentist appointment that day."
Walton + Brown add that law enforcement's narrative about Friday's events leave out "key details that raise cause for extreme concern."
A GoFundMe set up by Goodson's sister had raised over $21,000 by Monday morning.
A spokesman for the Franklin County Sheriff referred questions about where Goodson was shot to the Columbus Police. A police spokesman told WOSU that those details will be released sometime in the future as the investigation progresses.
"The Columbus Division of Police is committed to conducting comprehensive investigations and exhausting all resources and methods to establish the facts," Police Chief Tom Quinlan wrote in a press release Sunday night. "The Division will provide all evidence to the prosecutor and will maintain transparency with our community regarding this investigation as appropriate. We ask for the community to rely on the facts, and avoid sharing the kind of misinformation that can run rampant on social media. While difficult, please be patient for those facts to be established."
