'My son was murdered in cold blood for being a black man': Mother of man, 23, shot dead by sheriff's deputy in Ohio when his 'Subway sandwich was mistaken for a gun' calls officer who killed him a 'coward'
The heartbroken mother of the black man shot outside his grandmother's home by an Ohio sheriff's deputy says he was murdered 'in cold blood' for 'being a black man'.
Casey Christopher Goodson Jr, 23, was killed on Friday December 4 in northeast Columbus when Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade opened fire.
'My son was murdered in cold blood, and we don't have no answers as to why he was murdered. It is not a question to me at all at this time if my son was murdered or not,' Goodson's mother Tamala Payne said to CBS News.
Payne became emotional as she said her son was targeted for nothing other than 'being a black man', and slammed Meade as 'a coward.'
The US Marshals, Columbus police and Goodson's family have shared differing accounts of what led up to the shooting.
US Marshal Peter Tobin said Goodson was seen driving down the street waving a gun and when Meade confronted him, it resulted in the shooting.
But Payne said her son was returning home from the dentist's office with Subway sandwiches for himself, his five-year-old brother and his grandmother and never waved a gun.
'Casey would never ride by waving his gun at anybody, let alone a police officer,' she said.
Casey Christopher Goodson Jr, 23, was killed on Friday December 4 in northeast Columbus when Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade shot him
'My son was murdered in cold blood, and we don't have no answers as to why he was murdered. It is not a question to me at all at this time if my son was murdered or not,' Goodson's heartbroken mother Tamala Payne said
US Marshal Peter Tobin said Goodson was seen driving down the street waving a gun and when Meade confronted him, it resulted in the shooting. Payne said her son would never wave a gun
The family of Casey Goodson Jr., who was fatally shot by police last Friday, say he was a legal gun owner with a concealed carry permit.
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 10, 2020
Police say a gun was recovered from the scene, but have been silent on where it was found.@jeffpeguescbs has more https://t.co/gc6axWDd3R pic.twitter.com/Ua7WpUleNg
The family of Casey Goodson Jr., who was fatally shot by police last Friday, say he was a legal gun owner with a concealed carry permit.
Police say a gun was recovered from the scene, but have been silent on where it was found.@jeffpeguescbs has more https://t.co/gc6axWDd3R pic.twitter.com/Ua7WpUleNg
She said her son had a concealed carry permit as Ohio is an open carry state.
Goodson had hoped to become a firearms instructor, his mother and her attorney, Sean Walton, said Wednesday.
The Columbus Division of Police, which is in charge of investigating the shooting said that Meade saw 'a man with a gun' but did not say if Goodson had waved the gun before he was killed. They also said they recovered a gun from Goodson.
'My question is, why was my son murdered? And unfortunately, the coward that took his life does not have enough guts to answer the questions as to why my son's life was taken,' Payne said.
Payne said she'll never be able to hold her son again except 'at his damn funeral.'
'I want answers. I deserve answers. I demand answers at this point,' she said.
She learned of Goodson's death when her younger son called her.
'My 5-year-old called me screaming, "Mommy, mommy, Casey just got shot. The police just shot Casey, he's laying on the floor, mommy, he's dead, please hurry up, come get me, come get me, I'm scared,' Payne said.
The shooting took place on Friday afternoon in northeast Columbus after SWAT officers allegedly spotted Casey Goodson Jr 'waving a gun' and shot him outside his home on Estate Place . He later died in hospital
Goodson's family and friends, pictured outside his home in northeast Columbus following the shooting, have disputed the police's version of events and said he was shot in the back as he walked into his home after a visit to the dentist
Goodson Jr's family posted photos online of his license to legally carry a weapon
Payne said she, like all mothers of black men, spend their children's lives dreading a day like Friday.
'You see these other mothers and your heart breaks. But you never imagine that it's going to be you,' she said.
Meade, a 17-year veteran of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, was taking part in an unsuccessful search for a fugitive along with the US Marshal’s Office when he claimed Goodson, who was not the target of the search, waved a gun.
Pete Tobin, US Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, said at a press conference on Sunday that Goodson was seen 'waving a gun' and was followed by officers who later shot him three times. Tobin said the shooting was 'justified'
Meade said he then confronted Goodson outside of his home and he allegedly refused to drop the gun, US Marshal Peter Tobin said at a press conference last Friday.
Meade then shot Goodson and he was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Police have not revealed how many shots were fired.
Preliminary autopsy results showed Goodson died from multiple gunshot wounds in his torso, the Franklin County coroner said Wednesday. Final results aren't expected for at least three months.
Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz listed the cause of death as homicide, however it is not a legal finding and doesn't imply criminal intent.
911 calls released Wednesday reveal two people called authorities to report hearing multiple gunshots the day of the shooting.
'Four shots fired from what sounded like an automatic weapon,' one caller said.
One witness of the shooting heard Meade command Goodson to drop his gun, and when he didn't, the deputy shot him, Tobin said.
The preliminary autopsy report does not resolve conflicting accounts about Goodson's death.
But Payne said her son was returning home from the dentist's office with Subway sandwiches for himself, his five-year-old brother and his grandmother on Friday when the shooting took place
'It is concerning that they've had the body for this long and they still cannot confirm the entrance or exit wounds of the gunshots, Chandra Brown, an attorney representing Goodson's family along with Walton, said.
'It seems intentionally vague and we're looking forward to getting the official autopsy report when that is released,' she added.
The coroner's office declined to comment.
The state declined a request by Columbus police to review the shooting after Republican Attorney General Dave Yost said the police department waited three days to ask for the state to take the case and after the crime scene had been dismantled.
The case was initially given to city police because the sheriff's office does not oversee investigations of its own deputies in fatal shootings.
No video of the shooting has emerged. The sheriff's office does not provide officers with body cameras, and the deputy's SWAT vehicle did not have a dash-mounted camera.
The incident is now under investigation by the Columbus Police Department's Critical Incident Response Team as well as the FBI.
The Sheriff's Office and a police union have declined to comment on behalf of Meade.
Meade is a former Marine who received small arms training before joining the sheriff's office, and has had a generally good performance, according to his personnel file.
Two missteps stand out: In March 2019, he was reprimanded for misusing a stun gun on a suspect and failing to notify his supervisor of his use of force. And in September 2007, the sheriff's office prohibited Meade from having contact with inmates but did not disclose what conduct prompted it.
A GoFundMe set up to help the family pay for funeral costs has raised more than $92,000.