Family of Casey Goodson, man killed by an Ohio deputy, demands investigation

23-year-old Casey Goodson was fatally shot by Ohio sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade on his grandmother’s doorstep following a “verbal exchange” with the law officer, authorities and family members said.

Family of Casey Goodson are concerned

Loved ones of Casey Christopher Goodson Jr. said they have “extreme concern” about the killing in Columbus and are demanding a thorough investigation.

According to a statement released by the Columbus Police Department, a Franklin Deputy Sheriff working with the U.S. Task Force, reportedly witnessed Goodson carrying a gun.

“The deputy was investigating the situation and there are reports of a verbal exchange. The deputy fired at Mr. Casey Goodson, resulting in his death,” according to a sheriff’s statement.

“A gun was recovered from Mr. Goodson. Mr. Goodson was not the person being sought by the U.S. Marshals task force.”

Casey Christopher Goodson Jr Facebook

But family members say they are leery of the deputy’s version of the fatal encounter.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Sean Walton, a lawyer representing the family told NBC News on Monday. “Who drives down the street waving a gun out of the window? This isn’t a music video. This is real life.”

Goodson was licensed to carry a concealed weapon “and Ohio does not prohibit the open carrying of firearms,” according to a statement from Walton’s firm.

The incident

Goodson had gone to the dentist that day and grabbed three Subway sandwiches before he was killed in front of his 72-year-old grandmother and two toddlers.

He had parked in front of the house, walked across the front yard and was entering the home through the side entrance when he was shot, according to Walton.

“There’s no reason or justification for why any of this happened,” Walton said. “He fell and died in his own kitchen.”

When Goodson’s grandmother heard the shots and screams of toddlers, she rushed to the kitchen where the deputy pointed his gun at family members and ordered them out of the house, according to Walton. The family saw the sandwiches next to Goodson’s body but not the gun, their lawyer said.

“There’s really nothing that they’ve alleged or said that Casey did on his walk from the car to the house that would justify him being shot,” Walton said.

“He actually was putting his key into the door when he was shot. The key was hanging in the door even hours after the shooting.”

No body camera footage of the incident

Meade, a 17-year veteran of the force, was not wearing a body camera, Columbus police said. Deputies in this county are not required to wear body cameras.

The Columbus Police Critical Incident Response Team is the primary agency investigating the shooting because it occurred in Columbus.

Casey Goodson shooting investigation

That investigation will examine whether Meade was legally justified in shooting Goodson, according to Columbus Police. Once the investigation is complete, the evidence will be turned over to the Franklin County Prosecutor to be presented to a grand jury, police said.

In addition, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and the FBI are launching a federal civil rights investigation, according to a report by CNN.