Family Of Black Man Shot By Deputy Claims He Was Holding Sandwich, Not Gun

A Black man from Ohio, who was shot dead by the Sheriff’s deputy Friday while trying to enter his home, was holding a sandwich, not a gun, his family has claimed.

The Civil Rights and FBI have taken up the investigation of the case in which the police authorities have asserted that he was shot outside the house while holding a gun.

23-year-old Casey C. Goodson Jr. was shot multiple times while he returned to his grandmother’s home after a visit to the dentist. The family says that he was shot in front of two toddlers and his grandmother.

“My grandson just got shot in the back when he came in the house,” Goodson’s grandmother informed emergency officials immediately after the incident. She told them that he had just gone to the dentist and she does not know who shot him, according to a 911 recording obtained by Associated Press.

The case was first reported by Franklin County Sheriff’s office Friday and later transferred to the city police as the Sherriff’s office does not investigate cases involving its own deputies. The police department, however, did not initially release any details regarding the victim and the accused deputy involved.

The Sheriff’s office revealed Sunday, Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran, as the deputy behind the shooting. Meade was assigned as a task force member of the U.S. marshals fugitive service. He is currently removed from duty and awaits an inquiry with the Columbus Division of police critical incident and response team.

Peter Tobin, the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, Friday said in a press conference that the shooting was “justified.” He said that the deputy was in the area after an unsuccessful search for another suspect when Goodson drove by waving a gun at him. Tobin said Goodson refused to drop it down even after the deputy commanded him to do so, reported The Columbus Dispatch.

The deputy confronted the man who had gotten out of the car by then and shot him as he did not put the weapon down, Tobin said.

According to Goodson’s attorney statement, the official narrative has missed out “key details that raise cause for extreme concern." This missed out details include the object he was carrying while he was walking to the house.

The Goodson’s family says that it was a subway sandwich while the police say that it was a gun that they recovered later from the scene.

“I question what threat was Goodson presenting as he was unlocking the door to go inside his own home with his family,” Sarah Gelsomino, the family’s attorney said, reported The Washington Post.

The Sherriff’s office does not provide officers with body cameras and the SWAT vehicles do not have dash-cam making the visible evidence in the case not available.

After the family demanded an independent probe into the case, Mayor Andrew Ginther had sought to send the investigation to the State Bureau of Investigation with the attorney general’s office overseeing it. The bureau, however, declined the request for the investigation stating that the police took a long waiting time to ask the department to handle the case.

After the office of the State Attorney General's refusal to conduct the investigation, the office of Ohio U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers said Tuesday that it would step into the investigation along with the FBI.