Jason Meade, the former sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. in Columbus last year, has been indicted on murder charges.
Per a regional Ohio report from NBC4, Meade—who retired from his position as a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy in July of this year—was indicted Thursday on two charges of murder and a single reckless homicide count. Goodson, per autopsy results, was shot five times in the back by Meade in December of last year.
While both a U.S. Marshal and a lawyer for Meade initially claimed that Meade—who also worked as a member of a fugitive task force at the time—had seen Goodson wave a gun at him while driving by, the Marshal’s comments were later walked back.
According to Goodson’s family, he was coming home after driving to pick up sandwiches from Subway when he was shot. Per a separate Associated Press report, there are no body cam or dash cam videos of the fatal shooting.
Shortly after Meade shot and killed her son last December, Goodson’s mother Tamala Payne revealed she first got word of his death via a phone call from his 5-year-old brother.
“I want answers,” she told the AP. “I deserve answers. I demand answers at this point.”
The Franklin County grand jury indictment comes mere days before the one-year anniversary of Goodson’s death. Meade’s current defense attorney, Mark Collins, told the Columbus Dispatch on Thursday that his client will plead not guilty. Meade is set to be arraigned on Friday.
In a previous statement, the Columbus City Council said the region’s approach toward “reimagining safety” must also take into account violence of this nature.
“Our call for reimagining safety in Columbus is not just about policy and budgets, but also about addressing the devastating impacts of violence that disproportionately affects Black and Brown families,” the council said. “We invite our residents to stay engaged in the work ahead as Council listens, learns, and advances reforms in policing in our community. The Goodson family is in our prayers.”
Following the announcement of criminal charges on Thursday, Goodson’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Meade and Franklin County.
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