Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost rejects handling fatal shooting investigation

The Franklin County sheriff's office and county commissioners agree that deputies need body cameras. But there is disagreement over the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old Black man Friday by a SWAT deputy — and now over who should handle the independent investigation into the incident. 

Discussions about obtaining body cameras have been ongoing for the past couple of years, Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said Monday, with talks settling on the goal of purchasing the equipment in 2021.

The lack of body cameras for the agency has become a topic of discussion after Franklin County SWAT deputy Jason Meade shot 23-year-old Casey C. Goodson Jr. on Friday afternoon outside a Northland apartment while working with a U.S. Marshal's Service fugitive task force.

More:Questions surround shooting death of 23-year-old Black man by veteran SWAT officer

Among those expressing concerns about the lack of body cameras is the Columbus NAACP, which issued a statement Sunday saying that it contacted various law enforcement leaders and "inquired immediately if officers present were wearing body cameras."

"We find ourselves again addressing the death of a Black man by those sworn to protect and defend," the NAACP wrote, demanding "greater transparency, documentation and accountability for those responsible for protecting the community."

Had a body camera been in use when Meade pursued, interacted with and fired at Goodson, the NAACP and others say conflicting narratives about the incident would likely be easier to resolve.

Columbus police talked Monday afternoon with the Ohio Attorney General's office about having its Bureau of Criminal Investigation take over the investigation, and initially seemed to have approval. But Attorney General Dave Yost overrode that and turned down the request.

“We received a referral to take a three-day-old, officer-involved shooting case. 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," Steve Irwin, press secretary to Yost, said in a statement.

Yost said that BCI can investigate officer-involved shootings, but the process begins with a request for assistance, processing of a crime scene and a thorough investigation. BCI has an existing memorandum of understanding with Columbus police and "they know that BCI is their first call when an incident occurs," the statement said.

"BCI is the first call because we cannot be the subject matter experts unless we’re on scene from the beginning to document the evidence of what happened from the start,

Irwin said. "Three days later after the crime scene has been dismantled and the witness have all dispersed does not work."

Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said he had full confidence in the ability of his Critical Incident Response Team to fully investigate the case, but thought bringing in an outside agency would help lessen public concerns that have been expressed about objectivity.

"We understand that issues of perception can impact how the public views the results of a case such as this," he said in a written statement. "To remove any doubt among the public about the independence of this investigation," Quinlan said he believed it was appropriate to refer the case to state investigators.

With that option closed, Columbus police will likely have to proceed with their investigation because another law enforcement agency might have the same issues with coming in after the fact. 

The U.S Marshal's Service and Columbus police have said that the incident began shortly before 12:15 pm. Goodson waved a gun as he was driving past a sheriff's SWAT deputy, who was in an unmarked vehicle. The deputy was part of a U.S. Marshals task force had come up empty looking for a wanted fugitive. Goodson was not the target of that operation, and court records indicate he has had no criminal offenses. 

According to law enforcement officials, the deputy pursued the vehicle a short distance to investigate and confronted Goodson when he got out of his car at what turned out to be his grandmother's residence, with whom he lived in the 3900 block of Estates Place. They say the deputy fired at Goodson after he failed to comply with orders to drop the weapon.

"A gun was recovered from Mr. Goodson," according to a Columbus police news release.

Peter Tobin, the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, said at a Friday news conference that a nearby citizen heard Goodson being ordered to drop his gun.

No officers witnessed the shooting, and "no civilian eyewitnesses have been identified," police said in their release.

An attorney for Goodson's family said in a Sunday release that "his death was witnessed by his 72-year-old grandmother and two toddlers who were near the door."

However, that statement is not supported by a 911 call that the grandmother placed to police immediately after the shooting.

Asked by the 911 operator who shot her grandson, she replied: "I don't know. I just heard the gunshots and got up and he's laying in the door."

A recording of the call was obtained by The Dispatch from police through a public-records request.

The family's attorney, Sean Walton, has said that Goodson was returning from a dentist's appointment and picked up lunch from Subway, which he was carrying when he was shot as he placed his keys into the apartment door.

"As Casey lie on the ground dying, the unopened Subway sandwiches that he bought for himself and his family sat next to him in a pool of blood," Walton's release said. "Even hours after his death, the keys he used to let himself in the house as he was shot and killed hung in the door."

Investigators have provided few details about the shooting, including any comments about Subway sandwiches or house keys.

Nor have they commented on the claims by Walton that Goodson was shot three times in the back.

In the 911 call, the grandmother tells the operator that her grandson "just got shot in the back."

Law enforcement sources have said that wounds seen on a person's back are sometimes from bullets that struck a person in the front and passed completely through the body.

An autopsy, which will determine the path of the bullets, is expected to be performed this week. A call to Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz for information about when the autopsy will be performed was not immediately returned.

Among the elements that appear beyond dispute are that Goodson was not the person being sought by the fugitive task force and that he has no criminal record.

"He's not a bad kid," his grandmother said in the 911 call. "He doesn't have a police record. He works. I don't know why this happened."

Goodson also had a concealed-carry license, according to his family, which his sister posted a photo of on social media. 

Law-enforcement sources countered that having a license to carry a concealed weapon does not allow the permit-holder to wave the gun at others or refuse an officer's command to drop the weapon, which is what Tobin said happened when he spoke at a news conference Friday.

Tobin said the fugitive task force that included marshals and sheriff's office SWAT members had just finished an unsuccessful search for a suspect early Friday afternoon on Estates Place, near Karl and Ferris roads, when Deputy Meade, a 17-year veteran, saw a man drive by waving a handgun.

In response to the conflicting information about what happened next, Columbus police urged patience in awaiting the outcome of the investigation.

"The division has seen a number of inaccurate statements circulating, which can only add to the pain and confusion of an already tragic situation," according to the police release.

At the time, police were conducting the investigation and said in the release that they would "provide all evidence to the Franklin County prosecutor, who will review the established facts to a civilian grand jury."

Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, who lost a re-election bid in November, said in a text message that he doesn't expect the office to receive an investigative packet on the shooting until after his tenure ends on Jan. 4.

At that point, a decision about how the case will be handled will be up to his successor, Gary Tyack.

O'Brien texted that, if it were up to him, he would ask an outside prosecutor, either the Ohio attorney general's office or another county prosecutor, to handle the case. O'Brien recently began referring officer-involved fatal shootings in Franklin County to outside prosecutors to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Tyack told The Dispatch that he won't make any decision until after reviewing the evidence, but he said it's likely that his office would handle the prosecution.

"I don't think I'm going to avoid that responsibility," he said.

Baldwin said discussions about obtaining body cameras for deputies are so far along that his office obtained estimates for the cost of the system during the summer. 

The need to reduce the office's budget as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from including the body cameras in next year's budget, Baldwin said, but he and county administrators "still feel it is important enough to find a way to do it."

He said the proposal is to obtain 175 body cameras that are compatible with the office's existing cruiser cameras and include cloud-based storage of the video.

Controversy about Friday's shooting prompted State Rep. Erica C. Crawley, a Columbus Democrat, to release a statement reinforcing her commitment to police-reform legislation.

"The Ohio legislature has failed to pass any meaningful legislation that would bring more accountability and transparency to peace officers and police departments," she wrote. "Earlier this year, I introduced two key pieces of legislation regarding law enforcement, House Bill 706 and 721.

"This heartbreaking situation reinforces the necessity of de-escalation training, which is an important section in HB 706." Additionally, this legislation would train peace officers about racism, implicit bias and dealing with those experiencing a mental-health crisis, she stated.

U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, one of three Democratic officeholders who were caught in a burst of pepper spray during a Downtown protest about racial injustice this summer, issued a statement Monday calling the details surrounding Goodson's death "upsetting and extremely unsettling."

"Too many Black men in our community are dying or are the victims of unjustifiable, excessive force from the very people sworn to protect and serve all of us," she wrote. "I join Casey’s family, friends, and the entire community in demanding accountability and seeking justice for his senseless killing."

Change.org revealed in a Monday afternoon release that an online petition had been signed by nearly 8,000 people "in the community who are outraged and demanding justice for Casey."

Police didn't reveal Goodson's identity, nor that of Deputy Meade, until Sunday afternoon.

The shooting was at least the second in which Meade has been involved.

In June 2018, he was one of seven Franklin County deputies who fired their weapons during a standoff in Pike County that ended with two men dead.

Pike County sheriff Charles Reader had called in Franklin County's SWAT team to assist his deputies in a standoff that occurred when they tried to serve a felony arrest warrant. There were three separate incidents of gunfire in the standoff at a home in the southwestern part of Pike County.

The deputies' actions did not result in criminal or departmental charges.

jfutty@dispatch.com

@johnfutty