Jason Meade Found Guilty in Fatal Shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. in Ohio

A former sheriff’s deputy was found guilty of reckless homicide on Thursday for the fatal shooting of an Ohio man in 2020, a rare criminal conviction for a police-involved killing.

Jason Meade, who was working with a task force, had been searching for a fugitive when he shot Casey Goodson Jr., 23, several times in the back in December 2020. The killing roiled the city of Columbus and prompted hundreds to demonstrate in the streets.

Prosecutors and the family of Mr. Goodson, who is Black, have said that he was shot while standing in the doorway of his home in Columbus and was returning home with Subway sandwiches for his family after a dentist’s appointment.

A Franklin County jury found Mr. Meade guilty of reckless homicide on Thursday. The jury could not agree on whether to convict Mr. Meade of a separate murder charge, and the judge declared a mistrial for that count.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June.

It’s unusual for a law enforcement officer to be criminally tried over a killing that occurs on the job. In 2022, Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was found guilty of two counts of murder in the death of George Floyd, whose killing touched off racial justice protests worldwide. That conviction was seen as signaling a new willingness in the United States to hold police officers criminally accountable for misconduct.

Mr. Meade was initially charged in December 2021 on two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide in the shooting of Mr. Goodson. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, court records show. Before he was charged, Mr. Meade left the sheriff’s office on disability retirement in July 2021.

This was Mr. Meade’s second trial after the first resulted in a mistrial two years ago. Prosecutors dropped one of the murder charges in the retrial.

Mr. Meade’s lawyers have previously said that he had followed Mr. Goodson to his home because Mr. Goodson was “erratically” waving a firearm while driving home.

Mr. Goodson pointed the gun at Mr. Meade, who opened fire because he feared for his life, Mr. Meade’s lawyers said. Mr. Goodson did not have a criminal history, and he was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, the Goodson family’s legal team has said.

In 2024, Ohio officials approved a $7 million settlement for Mr. Goodson’s family after the family sued Franklin County.

Kirsten Noyes contributed research.