Correspondent
Correspondent photo / Sean Barron
The Rev. Abby Auman, the Mahoning Valley United Methodist Churches organizationâs district superintendent, makes her feelings known about the police killing of two black men in the Columbus area, during a vigil Sunday afternoon on the Mahoning County Courthouse steps.
YOUNGSTOWN Systemic racism and the continued unjustified killing of black men by white police officers still tear at the fabric of society, but the difference people of goodwill can make begins with speaking against both, several students say.
“When you see a wrongdoing and do nothing about it, you’re being a silent witness,” Lekeila Houser, a Youngstown State University senior and Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past member, said. “These men were wrongfully killed by those who are supposed to protect us.”
If there were security cameras in the residential area that captured any part of the incident, that is among many details that haven t been revealed by investigators. Without a body camera and with no witnesses, maybe the truth will never be known, said Michael Miller, a former Franklin County prosecutor.
It s unclear when Meade, who remains on paid administrative leave, will sit down to give a statement and answer questions from the Columbus Division of Police s Critical Incident Response Team, which is investigating the shooting along with the FBI.
Historically, officers involved in fatal shootings in Franklin County have met voluntarily with investigators after consulting with attorneys and preparing a written statement, usually no sooner than a week after the incident.
If there is a best practice for the handling of shootings of civilians by law enforcement, the investigation into the death of Casey C. Goodson Jr. is not it.
For more than a week now, four separate law enforcement agencies have batted around responsibility for the investigation like children swatting shuttlecocks around a grade-school gymnasium.
Where to begin?
We have had the city of Columbus, which was not involved in the shooting but tasked with investigating it, ask for the assistance of the state. For a brief period it seems they were told, yes, until Attorney General Dave Yost stepped in and said no.
The SWAT deputy, Jason Meade, shot and killed 23-year-old Casey C. Goodson Jr., who is alleged to have waved a gun at the deputy from a car, then refused orders to drop the weapon after he got out of the vehicle and tried to enter a nearby apartment.
The case has become emotionally charged, with Goodson s attorney and family members claiming that he was shot in the back while carrying Subway sandwiches into the home of his grandmother, with whom he lived.
While O Brien has established a policy of bringing in outside prosecutors to handle such cases to provide at least the appearance of an independent review, Tyack told The Dispatch that he is reluctant to avoid that responsibility.