Ohio state agency refuses to investigate Goodson shooting as more details emerge

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations is refusing to investigate the shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr. because 'so much time has passed'

Keydra Manns

Dec 8, 2020

A family is still looking for answers after their loved one was tragically killed by police.

Casey Goodson was shot by a deputy on the US Marshal’s fugitive task force as he entered his Colombus, Ohio home on Friday. There were no other witnesses to the shooting and it is unclear why the 23-year old was shot by Jason Meade who has been identified as the shooter.

The matter is being investigated by the Columbus Division of Police instead of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) which typically investigates police shootings due to the agency’s refusal to take the case.

“We received a referral to take a three-day old officer-involved shooting case,” said a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office on Monday, CNN reported.

“Not knowing all the reasons as to why so much time has passed before the case was referred to BCI, we cannot accept this case.”

Casey Goodson Jr thegrio.com — Casey Goodson Jr (via Instagram)

On Monday, Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan initiated the request for the office to investigate but just an hour later the request was reportedly denied. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a statement in response an hour later.

“BCI has an existing MOU (memorandum of understanding) with CPD, as they know that BCI is their first call when an incident occurs,” read the statement obtained by CNN. “BCI is the first call because we cannot be the subject matter experts unless we’re on the scene from the beginning to document the evidence of what happened from the start. Three days later after the crime scene has been dismantled and the witness(es) have all dispersed does not work.”

But despite the Columbus Police not being present for the shooting and the denied request from BCI, they say they believe the department can handle the investigation and Chief Quinlan only put in the request “based solely on reassuring the public of maximum independence in the investigation of this tragedy.”

Furthermore, the department and the chief “has complete faith in CPD’s Critical Incident Response Team to investigate this matter fully and fairly.”

As previously reported by theGrio, Deputy Meade 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.

“He was seen driving down the street waving a gun,” Tobin told WSYX-TV. “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.

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.”