Ohio deputy sheriff fatally shoots 23-year-old man during search for a fugitive
Casey Goodson Jr was shot three times in the back, his mother says
A young man was shot and killed by a sheriff’s SWAT deputy on Friday as the officer searched for a fugitive in Columbus, Ohio.
WSYX-TV reports that law enforcement gave chase to the man, identified as 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr, after he was seen driving down the street while waving a gun.
The victim’s mother, Tamala Cain, made a statement, indicating her son had no prior criminal record, was licensed to carry his weapon and that he was shot in the back.
“Police shot him in the back three times through the door,” Cain said. “He doesn’t have any warrants, he’s never been in trouble in his life.”
The Franklin County deputy sheriff was working in the northeast part of the city with the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, an entity of the U.S. Marshals, in search of a suspect on the run when Goodson was seen driving down the road, allegedly waving a firearm.
That’s when the SWAT deputy followed Goodson, according to Pete Tobin, the U.S. Marshal on hand.
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“He was seen driving down the street waving a gun,” Tobin told the local news outlet. “That’s when the deputy, at some point after that, he confronted him. And it went badly.”
According to Columbus police, the SWAT deputy shot Goodson after he exited his vehicle.
According to WCMH-TV, Goodson was taken to Riverside Hospital, where he died. The Marshal’s office stated that the man pulled his gun once he exited the vehicle, adding that the victim was not nor was he related to the suspect.
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In a weekend post on Instagram, however, noted civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump shared information regarding the incident that conflicted with the account that Goodson was holding a gun.
“Casey was walking into his own home for lunch after a dentist appointment. He was carrying a sandwich — NOT a gun,” Crump wrote. “This shoot first, ask questions later mentality MUST END! Our young Black men cannot be treated as errors on a police report, casualties of mistaken ID.”
The Columbus Police Department as well as the Franklin County prosecutor’s office will be investigating the shooting.
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