A week later, with protests planned, the U.S. Marshal’s Office issued a statement saying Tobin was speaking prematurely and with insufficient information. Tobin’s statement did not address the allegations of fact he had made after the shooting nor did he provide any additional clarity about the interaction between Meade and Goodson before the deputy fired him.
“Previously, I made comments after arriving at the scene of the incident and made statements based on the insufficient information I received before the official investigation into the shooting incident began,” the statement said. Tobin. “It was premature for me to provide any opinion, conclusion or other information about the facts of the incident. Other law enforcement agencies are involved in an independent and thorough investigation of this incident.”
Tobin also tried to distance the federal law enforcement agency from the deputy’s actions, saying “the agent was acting on his own and under his independent authority” when he found and shot Goodson, a black man. 23-year-old former Columbus police said he was legally armed at the time. Goodson holds a hidden transportation permit in Ohio.
The statement comes after Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Friday in a series of tweets that he has heard “over and over again that last Friday’s statements indicated that the outcome of the investigation was predetermined.”
“That’s not the case,” Ginther wrote. “U.S. Marshal Pete Tobin said it looked like the shooting was justified. He made a mistake in making a statement and his words were inappropriate, misinformed and affected public confidence in the investigation.”
The mayor added that local and federal authorities are “committed to following the evidence, reaching the truth and giving answers to Mr. Goodson’s family and the community.”
On the day of the shooting, Tobin said members of the task force were taking the material after an unsuccessful search when Goodson was “seen” driving down the street waving a gun, although he did not specify who saw Goodson. waving a weapon.
Sometime later, Meade confronted Goodson and then shot him dead.
Goodson’s mother says he was shot when he tried to get home after returning from the dentist and subway, a quick stop he made to get sandwiches to his 5-year-old brother and 72-year-old grandmother. The two found Goodson lying on the ground, family lawyer Sean Walton told CNN.
Lawyers for Goodson’s family said “neither the City of Columbus nor any other investigative agency has alleged that Casey Goodson aimed a gun before Meade pressed the trigger.”
Police said no other officers witnessed the shooting, no civilian eyewitnesses were identified and no camera material because officers from the Franklin commissioner’s task force do not receive body cameras.