- A 23-year-old Black man was shot and killed by law enforcement in Columbus, Ohio.
- Casey Goodson was shot by a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy who was in the area as part of the US Marshals Service fugitive task force.
- Goodson’s family said he was shot three times in the back.
- Goodson was not a person of interest to the task force, and according to his family’s lawyers had no prior criminal record.
- The sheriff’s deputy was identified as Jason Meade. He reportedly saw a man who he thought was Goodson waving a gun in his car while driving and approached Goodson after he left his car.
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A Franklin County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Casey Goodson a 23-year-old black man on December 4.
Law enforcement alleges he was waving a gun, but Goodman’s family said he was only holding a sandwich from Subway, NPR reported.
The Columbus Police Department is now investigating Goodson’s death. The Department said in a statement that the Franklin County sheriff’s deputy was identified as Jason Meade.
Goodson was shot while he was at his door his front door on December 4, after returning from a dentist appointment while holding subway sandwiches he bought for himself and his family, the law firm representing his family said in a statement.
Goodson’s family told NPR that he was shot three times in the back.
Meade, who had been assigned to the US Marshals Service fugitive task force, was in the area searching for suspects. Goodson was not one of them, according to the Columbus Police Department.
"During an operation in the Northland area of Columbus, the deputy reported witnessing a man with a gun," the Columbus Police Department said in a statement. "The deputy was investigating the situation, and there are reports of a verbal exchange. The deputy fired at Mr. Casey Goodson, resulting in his death."
However, police also said Goodson was not wanted for any prior incident. Walton + Brown, the law firm representing Goodson's family, said in a statement he had no prior criminal records.
According to the police statement, a gun was recovered from Goodson. Attorneys for the family said he had a license to carry a concealed weapon.
NPR reported that as of Sunday, Meade has yet to be interviewed by investigators.
Columbus Police also said in their statement that "there were reports of verbal exchange" but also said no other officer witnessed the shooting, that there were no civilian eyewitnesses, and there is no body camera footage of the shooting.
Walton + Brown, however, said that Goodson's 72-year-old grandmother and two toddlers had witnessed the shooting. However, in the 911 call, she says she heard the shots and then saw him lying on the ground.
"As Casey lie on the ground dying, the unopened Subway sandwiches that he brought for himself and his family sat next to him in a pool of blood. Even hours after his death, the keys that he used to let himself in the house as he was shot and killed hung in the door - a reminder to his family of how close he was to safety," the law firm said.
Kaylee Harper, who identified herself as Goodson's sister wrote in a Facebook post: "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.