Former Officer Charged With Murder In Fatal Shooting Of Casey Goodson Jr.
On Thursday (December 2), murder charges were filed against former Columbus, Ohio sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade, almost a year after he allegedly shot and killed Casey Goodson Jr. near his home in the northeastern part of the city.
According to WBNS, Meade, who was a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy, was charged with two counts of murder and one county of reckless homicide for the December 4, 2020 shooting.
The indictment filed in Franklin County Court reveals that Meade is charged with one count of murder for “purposely” causing Goodson’s death. The second murder charge is for Meade fatally shooting Goodson “as a proximate result of the offender committing or attempting to commit an offense of violence.”
The indictment also states Meade recklessly caused Goodson’s death, which prompted that charge.
On the afternoon of Goodson’s death, a U.S. Marshals task force was searching for fugitives when officials claimed Casey Goodson Jr. drove by waving a gun. He was confronted by Franklin County Sheriff's deputies, who allegedly ordered him to drop the weapon. Franklin County Sheriff's S.W.A.T. Deputy Jason Meade opened fire when Goodson Jr. allegedly did not comply.
Goodson was never the intended target of the search.
Goodson’s family has confirmed that he was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, the Columbus Dispatch reports. But when he was shot, the family says he was actually carrying submarine sandwiches as he was trying to enter his home after returning from a dental appointment.
U.S. Marshal Peter Tobin initially said Meade confronted Goodson after he drove by and waved a gun at the deputy. He later withdrew those comments saying they’d been based on “insufficient information.”
According to a coroner’s report, Goodson was shot six times – five in his back and once in his buttocks. There was no bodycam footage of the shooting since sheriff’s office deputies are not equipped with them.
The FBI and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division are joining the Columbus Police Dept.’s Critical Incident Response Team to “review the facts and circumstances” of the incident, according to a DOJ statement.
Meade was placed on administrative leave after the shooting before leaving the sheriff’s office on disability retirement in July.
An arraignment is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.
