Franklin County Commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to pay $7 million to the family of Casey Goodson Jr.
Goodson was shot and killed by former Franklin County sheriff's deputy Jason Meade in December 2020. Meade was with a U.S. Marshals task force on an unsuccessful fugitive search when he claimed he saw Goodson waving a gun inside a car.
The settlement gives the $7 million to Goodson's family and results in a dismissal of all civil claims in lawsuits the family has pending against Franklin County. The settlement is also not an admission of liability of guilt by the county.
"The settlement is unrelated to the criminal matter that is currently pending, the court for Common Pleas Court. And to be clear, the settlement is not indicative of the value of Casey Goodson Jr.'s life," First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Chief Counsel Jeanine Hummer said.
Commissioner Erica Crawley gave her sympathies to Goodson's family and spoke about the need to reform policing following protests against police involved shootings that kill Black people.
"It will not replace Casey's life. It doesn't come close. But what we can do is, for our part of this on the civil matter, is try to meet this moment," Crawley said.
Crawley said the Board of Commissioners during her tenure and while she was a state representative have invested in body cameras for Franklin County Sherriff's deputies and cultural competency training.
"There are things that we can do. There's more that can be done. But I know that we, my colleagues and I continue to push the prosecutor's office working with the sheriff's office on policies and procedures to ensure that, one, that our community members are safe and feel like they are safe when they have to interact, with law enforcement. But also for the safety of our officers," Crawley said.
Commissioner Kevin Boyce said the county is having conversations around de-escalation training, but he said instituting those trainings is not a decision the board makes. He said Goodson's death helped move the needle and push the county towards change.
"We don't affect law enforcement policy or certainly not training. But the conversation is one that we've pressed and... so those are things we just provide funding so that our law enforcement officers can do those things and really just have a menu of tools to be able to apply or utilize when they are having to make a decisions in certain cases," Boyce said.
The three commissioners did not comment much on Meade's pending murder trial in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
"I want to be mindful of there is a criminal matter that is going forward again. And so, you know, people are, innocent until proven guilty. So I want to be mindful of, the, the comments that I want to make here," Crawley said.
Even though Goodson was not the subject of the search Meade was apart of, Meade pursued Goodson to a family home in the Northland area. Meade shot Goodson six times in the back outside the home. Meade claims Goodson ignored requests to drop the gun.
Goodson’s family and prosecutors said during a criminal trial he was holding a sandwich bag in one hand and his keys in the other when he was fatally shot. They do not dispute that Goodson may have been carrying a gun and note he had a license to carry a firearm.
Sean Walton, the family's lawyer, said in a statement the settlement is "a significant step in the pursuit of justice for Casey and his loved ones."
"The settlement allows Casey's family to resolve their civil claims against Franklin County, enabling them to concentrate fully on the upcoming murder retrial of Michael Jason Meade. While no amount of money can ever compensate for the loss of Casey, this settlement is a crucial acknowledgment of the profound impact his death has had on his family and the broader community," Walton said.
The settlement dismisses all civil claims without Meade or the county admitting any liability.
Meade's last criminal trial ended with a hung jury in February after jurors could not come to a unanimous decision on the charges. Judge David Young initially declared a mistrial in the case, but then rescinded his decision a few minutes later. A few hours later, Young declared a mistrial in the case for a second time.
A second trial for Meade is scheduled to begin in October.
