COLUMBUS – Columbus police investigators say it will be up to the Franklin County Prosecutor and a grand jury to determine whether the fatal shooting of a man by a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy Friday was justified.
UPDATE 12/7/20 4:46 p.m.: The investigation has been turned over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
UPDATE 12/8/20 5:58 a.m.: After further review, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office determined BCI would not take the case, citing the investigation was already well underway.
The Columbus Division of Police Critical Incident and Response Team is investigating the incident, which involved a veteran of the sheriff’s office who was looking for violent offenders in the Northland area as a member of the U.S. Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force, police spokesman Sgt. James Fuqua said.
Since the shooting happened in the jurisdiction of the Columbus police but did not involve any Columbus officers, Columbus homicide detectives are the primary investigators who will turn their findings over to the prosecutor, Fuqua.
“The Columbus Division of Police is committed to conducting comprehensive investigations and exhausting all resources and methods to establish the facts. The Division will provide all evidence to the prosecutor and will maintain transparency with our community regarding this investigation as appropriate. We ask for the community to rely on the facts, and avoid sharing the kind of misinformation that can run rampant on social media,” police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a statement.
The prosecutor’s office who will present the evidence to a civilian grand jury, which will determine whether the shooting was justified, he said.
An autopsy will be performed by the Franklin County Coroner.
Deputy Jason Meade reported seeing a man with a gun during the task force operation and investigated. There were reports of a verbal exchange between Meade and Casey Goodson, 23, and Meade fired his weapon at Goodson, fatally injuring him, Fuqua said.
A gun was recovered from Goodson, who was not the person being sought by the task force, Fuqua said.
However, there are conflicting reports about what happened. According to one account, Goodson had returned from a dentist’s appointment with food in his hand and had unlocked the door to his home when he was shot, state Rep. Erica C. Crawley (D-Columbus) said in a statement released Monday.
“It begs repeating that Mr. Goodson was not alleged to have been a suspect in any crimes, has no criminal background, and was not the target of any ongoing investigation and was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, which the Ohio legislature has allowed open carrying of firearms. It is vital that Mr. Goodson’s family, as well as the community, receive answers to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Goodson,” Crawley said.
No other officers witnessed the shooting and no civilian eyewitnesses were identified.
All records related to the investigation will become public record at the conclusion of the legal process, Fuqua said.