United States Attorney David DeVillers announced today the U.S. Attorney’s Office – in coordination with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the Cincinnati Division of the FBI and the Columbus Division of Police – will review the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dec. 4, 2020 shooting of Casey Goodson.
The 23-year-old Goodson was shot last week on his doorstep in north Columbus by Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran who was working with the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. The Marshals Service says they were concluding their operation when Goodson drove by and waved a gun at an officer. There were reports of a "verbal exhange", but Columbus Police say no other officer witnessed the shooting. Members of the task force are not issued body cameras, and no other witnesses have been identified.
A gun was recovered near Goodson. But family members say the 23-year old man, who had a concealed carry license, was simply returning home from the dentist, and carried only his house keys and dinner. Goodson was not the target of or related to the Fugitive Task Force investigation.
On Monday, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation declined to take up the case. Steve Irwin, a spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General's office, said that in the interval between the shooting and the request, the crime scene had been dismantled and the witnesses dispersed.
According to the DeVillers release, federal officials will take appropriate action if the evidence indicates any federal civil rights laws were violated.
