The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation says it will not accept the three-day-old investigation into the death of Casey Goodson Jr, and that Columbus Police and the Franklin County Sheriff should have brought them into the case when the shooting took place.
Goodson, 23, was shot and killed by Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade on Friday.
By Monday, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Columbus Police agreed to pass off the investigation to the BCI, which is overseen by the Ohio Attorney General.
"To remove any doubt among the public about the independence of the investigation, I believe it is appropriate to refer it to state investigators," Police Chief Tom Quinlan said in an emailed statement.
Only a few hours later, however, BCI announced it would decline to take charge of the investigation.
"We recieved a referral to take a three-day-old office-involved shooting case," says Steve Irwin with the Attorney General's Office. "Not knowing all the reasons as to why so much time has passed before the case was referred to BCI, we cannot accept this case."
Irwin says it is rare that BCI would turn down a case, but rarer still that local authorities would wait three days before involving the Bureau.
"BCI is the first call because we cannot be the subject matter experts unless we're on scene from the beginning to document the evidence of what happened from the start," Irwin says. "Three days after the crime scene has been dismantled and the witnesses have all dispersed does not work."
As of Monday night, the Columbus Division of Police and Franklin County Sheriff's Office have not responded to BCI's decision.
The United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force were wrapping up an unsuccessful search for a suspect last Friday when deputies encountered Goodson – who was neither the person they were looking for nor the subject of any investigation. Officials says Meade confronted Goodson after he was seen "driving down the street waving a gun."
Family members dispute that account of events, saying that Goodson was shot at the door of his home while returning from the dentist. Goodson was also a concealed carry permit holder.
No body camera footage was taken of the incident, and law enforcement have not provided details about Meade's interaction with Goodson before the shooting.
