Ohio authorities, victim's family share conflicting stories after fatal shooting of 23-year-old Black man Casey Goodson

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Local activists are questioning the decision of a veteran Ohio SWAT deputy to shoot a 23-year-old Black man as he arrived at his home on Friday afternoon.

Family members and activists say Casey Christopher Goodson Jr., 23, was carrying a Subway sandwich and was on his way back from the dentist’s office when he was fatally shot in the back three times by a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy who is a SWAT member and assigned to a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force.

Authorities have said that an autopsy will be conducted this week.

In a release just after 4:20 p.m. Sunday, the sheriff's office publicly identified the Franklin County SWAT deputy as Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran. Meade is not currently on duty, the release said, and he is awaiting an interview by the Columbus Division of Police Critical Incident and Response Team, which is investigating the incident.

“Casey was 23 years old, he never had any type of crimes. He was good. He worked at the Gap. He loved his family,” Heather Johnson, a family friend, told The Dispatch of the USA TODAY Network on Sunday. “He just enjoyed being a big brother and enjoyed being with his family. He loved them very much.”

Peter Tobin, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, said at a news conference that a fugitive task force that included marshals and Franklin County Sheriff’s SWAT members had just finished an unsuccessful search for a suspect on early Friday afternoon when a man man drove by, waving a handgun at a sheriff’s SWAT deputy.

Tobin said the SWAT deputy went to confront the man about the gun-waving. The man was already out of his vehicle and was told to drop his gun, a command heard by at least one witness, Tobin said.

When the man with the gun did not drop his weapon, Tobin said, the deputy shot him. The man, who was not the target of the original fugitive raid, was transported to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he later died.

A handgun was recovered, Tobin said, but he did not say from where.

Tobin said he believed the shooting was justified. He said the Columbus police Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) will conduct an investigation that will be reviewed by the Franklin County prosecutor’s office. The matter also will be presented to a county grand jury for consideration.

Activists say Tobin’s narrative did not mention that Goodson was shot in the back or his family’s statement that he had a concealed carry permit for the handgun.

“This was not justified,” Johnson said of the shooting. “He didn’t pose a threat at all.”

Aramis Sundiata, executive director of the People’s Justice Project, said Goodson was just living his life.

“He had a family ... and was living his life as a person and was shot down by the police,” he said.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the incident, citing the Columbus police CIRT investigation. However, the sheriff’s office tweeted that the deputy was a 17-year veteran of the office and assigned full-time to the U.S. Marshal Task Force. The tweet also stated that “the suspect’s weapon was recovered at the scene.”

The People’s Justice Project shared a post from someone indicating that they are Goodson’s cousin and copying a post from his mother’s Facebook page. The post reads that her son was shot in his back three times.

She said he had food in his hands, was unlocking the door and walking inside his home when he was shot with his hands up.

About 40 people attended a Saturday night vigil for Goodson, hosted by the People’s Justice Project. They are demanding that officials release body camera footage, police reports and conduct both an independent autopsy report and an independent prosecutor’s investigation, according to the People’s Justice Project’s Facebook page.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Marc Gofstein said the sheriff’s office does not have body cameras.

Goodson's sister has organized an online fundraiser for her brother's funeral costs on GoFundMe. It has exceeded its $9,000 goal.

Kaylee Harper, who started the fundraiser, posted on her Facebook page that police are lying.

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"My brother literally walked across the yard, walked into the back fence to get to the side door, had his Subway (sandwich) and (COVID-19) mask in one hand keys in the other, unlocked and opened the door and stepped in the house before (police shot) him," Harper wrote.

"If he was such a threat," she wrote, "why did you wait so long to shoot?!"

She later posted a photo of her brother's concealed carry license.

Danae King: dking@dispatch.com, @DanaeKing

Contributing: Bethany Bruner, The Dispatch.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Casey Goodson: Ohio shooting of Black man produces conflicting stories