Franklin County commissioners push for body cams, policy changes following shooting
Franklin County Commissioners are showing a new urgency to get body cameras for county sheriff's deputies and make related policy changes in the wake of the fatal shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. by a SWAT deputy last Friday.
The commissioners also urged Tuesday that the public withhold judgment about the shooting until after an investigation by the Columbus police Critical Incident Response Team and the FBI and the review by new county Prosecutor Gary Tyack and the U.S. Department of Justice.
"This is a tragedy no matter how you look at it, no matter who's at fault," Commissioner Kevin Boyce said during Tuesday's commissioners' general session. "It's a tragedy any time there's a life lost."
County Administrator Kenneth Wilson said the county is determined to secure the dollars necessary to get body cameras — something that has been talked about for months — in use next year. Along with purchasing the equipment, he said the department will work on establishing policies to determine when they should be turned on or off and other legal requirements concerning how the data is stored.
During Tuesday's general session, Boyce and Commissioners Marilyn Brown and John O'Grady said the racial tension that surrounded the death of George Floyd and this year's election has already brought on a sense of "exhaustion." Goodson's death, who was shot and killed by Franklin County Sheriff's SWAT deputy Jason Meade last Friday, was another ghastly blow to the community, they said.
All three commissioners pointed to the shared responsibility they have as elected officials when confronted with these incidents. Rather than immediately react on social media or other platforms to initial the reports, Boyce said it's important they remain patient as the investigation continues to take shape.
"In order for justice to occur, you have to let that fact-gathering process to take place," Boyce said. "You can not be biased with pre-ordained statements before you have that (information)."
Brown added, "Clearly, a mother lost their son and that's a tragedy," she said. "But we need to have all the facts and any elected or another official that makes this a public statement before all of the facts are out is irresponsible at best."
Currently, Columbus police are investigating whether or not Meade, a 17-year sheriff's office veteran, was legally justified in the shooting of the 23-year-old Goodson. The FBI and U.S. Attorney's office will investigate whether any federal civil rights laws were broken.
Boyce said the commissioners and Sheriff Dallas Baldwin's office will need to rethink how local law enforcement should operate and how they can honor the ethics and standards around policing.
"I'm zeroed in on how we can think in the future to prevent this and to not be in a situation to protect the safety of law enforcement officers and the public, and do it all in an honest and transparent way," he said.
As more information is uncovered, O'Grady said the commissioners will continue working toward eliminating the effects of racism and poverty in the community and helping to fund the use of body cams in 2021.
Boyce said the commissioners' work in poverty and racism is core to the changes and improvement of quality of life in the county for the next two decades. And while the community doesn't always get it right, he's confident the work they continue to do will ensure Goodson's death won't be in vain.
"We can make it so that his death wasn't for nothing, that his mark and print in his time here means something for the future of Central Ohio," Boyce said.