White’s former deputy will face second trial in connection with the death of Casey Goodson Jr., who was shot five times in the back

Several Black people have been killed at the hands of white law enforcement officers in Ohio over the past decade, sparking nationwide outrage and cries for police reform.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A retrial for a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy who was charged with murder in the killing of a 23-year-old Black man is scheduled for this fall.

A trial date for Jason Meade, who is white, was set for Oct. 31 during a standing conference held Monday by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young. Casey Goodson Jr. he was one of several Black people killed by white law enforcement in Ohio over the past decade — all deaths that sparked nationwide outrage and cries for police reform.

He also oversaw Meade’s first trial earlier this 12 months, during which the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict, and in February, Young declared a mistrial, ending tumultuous proceedings that resulted in 4 jurors being dismissed.

Special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer and Assistant Montgomery County Attorney Josh Shaw – who were assigned to prosecute the case – released an announcement a couple of days later saying it was “in the best interest of all individuals involved and the community” to maneuver forward with the test.

Meade was charged with murder and reckless homicide in the December 2020 killing of Goodson in Columbus. Meade pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers said they weren’t surprised by prosecutors’ decision to pursue one other trial, which they said was attributable to political pressure from local elected officials.

Meade shot Goodson six times, including five times in the back, as Goodson tried to enter his grandmother’s house. Meade testified that Goodson was waving a gun at him as the two drove past one another, so he pursued him because he claimed he feared for his life and the lives of others. He said he eventually shot Goodson at the door of his grandmother’s house because the young man turned towards him with a gun.

Goodson’s family and prosecutors said he was holding a bag of sandwiches in one hand and his keys in the other when he was fatally shot. They don’t dispute that Goodson could have been carrying a gun and note that he had a permit to hold a firearm.

Goodson’s weapon, a handgun with an prolonged magazine, was found on the floor of his grandmother’s kitchen with the safety mechanism engaged.

Meade was not wearing a body camera, so there is no such thing as a footage of the shooting, and prosecutors repeatedly asserted during the first trial that Meade was the only person who testified that Goodson was holding a gun.

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Former White deputy faces second trial in death of Casey Goodson Jr., who was shot 5 times in the back appeared first on TheGrio.