The former Ohio sheriff’s deputy who shot Casey Goodson, Jr. in the back 5 times has officially been charged with murder. Franklin County ex-deputy Jason Meade was taken into custody on Thursday.
The December 2020 shooting wasn’t caught on body cam nor dash cam footage, which caused an uproar in a community who demanded answers.
The Dec. 4, 2020 shooting happened as Meade, a 17-year member of the sheriff’s office, was said to be doing some work for a U.S. Marshals Service task force. U.S. Marshalls stated that he was not performing any task for them at that time and Goodson was not the subject of the fugitive search.
Meade followed Goodson with his car, whom the deputy said was “waving the firearm erratically,” and then parked and put on a tactical vest identifying himself as a member of the Marshals’ task force, according to the statement.
Meade then followed Goodson on foot, as Goodson walked toward a house.
Meade “commanded Mr. Goodson to once again ‘drop the gun,’ and when that command was ignored, and while the gun was pointing at Mr. Meade, he, in fear for his life as well as those inside the house, fired his weapon at Mr. Goodson,” the statement said.
Relatives say Goodson was opening the door to his grandmother’s house at the time he was shot. Investigators said that a gun was recovered from the scene but have not provided further details.
The family has said Goodson had a sandwich, not a gun, in his hand. But even if Goodson had been carrying a gun, the family has reiterated, he had a license to do so.
Meade himself has not spoken publicly about the shooting.
A judge scheduled an initial hearing Friday for Meade, who will plead not guilty, Collins said.
Goodson’s mother, Tamala Payne, said she was “overwhelmed with joy” at word of the indictment Thursday.
“It’s been a year of sadness, it’s been a year of grief, it’s been a year of pain,” Payne said at a late morning news conference, surrounded by several relatives. “But I know that every day of this year, that my family and I wake up and just fight for what’s right.”
