Jan 31, 2024 - News

Former SWAT deputy's murder trial underway

Alissa Widman Neese

Tamala Payne and attorney Sean Walton stand outside a courthouse and speak to a TV news reporter holding a microphone. — Tamala Payne, Casey Goodson Jr.'s mother, speaks alongside attorney Sean Walton outside the Franklin County Courthouse in 2021. Photo: Marc Wilson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A murder trial is underway for Jason Meade, a retired Franklin County SWAT deputy charged in the 2020 shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr., a 23-year-old Black man.

The latest: Jury selection concluded Tuesday and took longer than expected.

Potential jurors were given a 99-question survey — approximately three times what's typical — regarding their opinions on law enforcement and social justice, per WCMH-TV.

Catch up quick: Meade, 45, pleaded not guilty in December 2021 to two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide.

His trial was originally set for March 2022 but has been delayed several times.
Goodson was shot six times in the doorway of his grandmother's home, in his back and buttocks, per an autopsy report.

Zoom in: There are no known witnesses to the shooting and Meade wasn't wearing a body camera.

Meade's attorneys allege Goodson waved a gun at him from inside a vehicle, didn't heed directions, and then pointed it at him again while walking toward the Northland-area home.
Goodson's family says he was carrying Subway sandwiches into the house, not a gun, and couldn't hear Meade because he was wearing earbuds.

What's next: The trial is expected to last two weeks, with opening statements starting Wednesday.

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Former SWAT deputy's murder trial underway

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