Police are an existential danger to Black bodies.
Source: Angela Rohde / EyeEm / Getty
“There’s a war going on outside, no man is safe from”, were the infamous bars rapped by Mobb Deep’s now-deceased legend Prodigy. Those lyrics are from 1994 and they ring as true today as they did then. Yesterday, BOSSIP reported on the shooting death of 23-year-old Casey Goodson at the hands of an Ohio sheriff. He was thought to be a man who was said to have been waving a firearm out of his car window. This was incorrect and now he’s dead because either police don’t know how to do their jobs or they want Black people dead. Hell, maybe both.
According to NBC News, Casey’s family is beyond broken at the loss of their beloved. Casey was legally licensed gun owner with the legal right to carry his weapon. Even the police acknowledge that despite the “verbal exchange” that Casey had with his killer, he did not threaten or brandish his gun at the offending officer.
Contrary to initial reports stating that Casey was killed when he got out of his car, the truth is that he was killed while unlocking his front door and collapsed into the house in front of his 72-year-old grandmother and two screaming toddlers.
“The deputy was investigating the situation and there are reports of a verbal exchange. The deputy fired at Mr. Casey Goodson, resulting in his death,” according to a sheriff’s statement. “A gun was recovered from Mr. Goodson. Mr. Goodson was not the person being sought by the U.S. Marshals task force.”
“There’s really nothing that they’ve alleged or said that Casey did on his walk from the car to the house that would justify him being shot,” Walton said. “He actually was putting his key into the door when he was shot. The key was hanging in the door even hours after the shooting.”
Incoming chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Joyce Beatty, issued a statement on Casey’s killing yesterday:
“Like many in the community, I am at a loss of words over the killing of Casey Christopher Goodson, Jr. The circumstances surrounding his tragic death are upsetting and extremely unsettling because too many Black men in our community are dying or are the victims of unjustifiable, excessive force from the very people sworn to protect and serve all of us. I join Casey’s family, friends, and the entire community in demanding accountability and seeking justice for his senseless killing.”
Our hearts bleed for the Goodson family and we truly hope they leave the police department penniless in their soon-to-be-filed lawsuit against the city. This is beyond unacceptable and it everyone involved should pay the highest price.
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