Deputy shot man in back, attorney says

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A preliminary autopsy report of a Black man killed by an Ohio deputy last week showed signs of him being shot in the back multiple times, an attorney for the victim’s family said Thursday.

“Casey was not a suspect in any way shape or form,” said Sean Walton, one of the attorneys for Casey Goodson Jr.’s family. “Casey was just someone who was killed on his kitchen floor simply because he was a Black man and his skin was weaponized.”

Attorneys and relatives of Goodson, 23, said he was killed Friday by a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Jason Meade, as he walked through the front doorway of his grandmother’s Columbus house.

Preliminary autopsy results released Wednesday showed Goodson died from multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. Final results aren’t expected for at least three months. The family announced Thursday that they will conduct their own, independent autopsy.

The Franklin County coroner listed the cause of death as a homicide — a medical determination used in cases where someone has died at someone else’s hand but not a legal finding. It doesn’t imply criminal intent.

Police have only said that the deputy “shot” Goodson without detailing how many shots were fired.

Two 911 callers reported hearing multiple gunshots that day, according to copies of those calls released Wednesday.

Meade, the deputy who shot Goodson, is a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office.

Meade is cooperating with authorities and disputing allegations made by Goodson’s family, attorney Mark Collins said in an email Thursday.

“Mr. Goodson pointed his gun at Deputy Meade,” Collins said. “There has been confirmation that our client gave verbal commands for Mr. Goodson to drop the gun.”