By Brendan O’Brien
(Reuters) – Federal authorities have launched an investigation into the police shooting of a 23-year-old Black man, who was killed last week as he entered his Columbus, Ohio, home with sandwiches for his family.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers announced on Tuesday that his office, along with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the FBI, will review the shooting of Casey Goodson, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy on Friday.
The incident is the latest in a recent series of police-involved shootings and killing of Black men in the United States.
Several high profile incidents have triggered mass protests, demanding an end to unjustified police use of lethal force in minority communities.
Last Friday afternoon, Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Meade was working for the U.S. Marshal helping search for a fugitive when he saw a man with a gun in the Northland neighborhood of Columbus. Meade opened fire when the man did not drop his weapon after he was ordered to do so, said the Columbus Division of Police in a statement.
Goodson’s family said he was returning home from a dentist appointment with three Subway sandwiches for his family in his hand when he was shot by Meade as he entered his home.
“This is flat out an execution of an innocent man,” said the family’s attorney Sean Walton on the Breakfast Club, a nationally syndicated radio show. “We need justice for Casey.”
Goodson’s mother, Tamala Payne, said during the interview that her son had a conceal carry license and was armed at the time of the shooting.
Columbus police, who are leading the local investigation, said a gun was recovered at scene. No other officers or civilians saw the shooting and there is no body camera footage of the incident, police said.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
