Brad Brooks

(Reuters) – A Columbus sheriff’s deputy was indicted Thursday on murder charges in connection to the Dec 2020 shooting death. The victim was a Black man aged 23, who had been shot five times when he entered his residence.

Jason Meade is a former Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy. He was white, and he retired after the shooting. According to the Franklin County grand juror indictment.

Protests erupted following a series of demonstrations for racial justice that demanded accountability from law enforcement officers in America who have gunned down Black men.

Gary Shroyer (special prosecutor) and H. Tim Merkle (deputy attorney) stated in a written declaration that charges were filed following an investigation of the Columbus police station, an FBI corruption squad and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.

Meade surrendered on Thursday, and will appear in Franklin County Municipal Court for the first time on Friday. His lawyer Mark Collins stated in an email statement that Meade was turning himself in. He will not plead guilty.

According to the March report by the Coroner, Goodson was struck five times in the back, and hit once in the buttock. This was considered a murder.

The details of the shooting are still unclear. Meade did not have a bodycam and there were no eye witnesses.

Meade was employed by the U.S. The Dec. 4, 2019, shooting involved a Marshals Service taskforce. Goodson was assisting in search of a fugitive. He was not captured.

Collins, Meade’s lawyer, stated that Goodson waving a gun at Goodson while driving a car was something that Goodson saw and that the weapon had been pointed at Meade in his Thursday statement.

Collins reported that Collins gave Collins a radio account by Collins in which the deputy detailed what had happened to other members on the fugitive team. While other officers were there to support Collins, none of them witnessed the shooting. Meade accompanied Goodson on his journey home. Collins says that Goodson fired upon Meade after he raised his right-hand weapon and pointed it towards Meade.

Sean Walton, the lawyer representing Goodson, stated by telephone that this was an “implausible” story made by Meade. He claimed Meade wanted to escape prosecution.

Walton claimed that Goodson was clean of any criminal convictions and that there were no reports about him being erratic with his gun.

Walton declared that Meade’s story is absurd. “Casey held a concealed permit to carry because he was committed to following the law and believed in his right of bear arms.

Goodson’s family claims that Goodson was returning from a dental appointment carrying three sandwiches in one hand, when Meade shot him.

Tamala Payne (Goodson’s mother) stated last year in media interviews that her son was armaged at the time. He also had a concealed-carry license.

Payne claimed that Meade’s conviction had left her “overwhelmed” during a Thursday press conference.

Walton reported that Thursday’s family had filed a federal civil right lawsuit against Meade County, Franklin County, and the U.S. District Court of Columbus.

Dallas Baldwin of Franklin County stated in a statement that everybody is innocent until proven guilty. He also said that his staff was to uphold standards and learn as much from this tragedy as possible.