Protest against the death of Casey Goodson, a 23-year-old Black man who was killed by police in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo: Reuters)
Columbus, December 13 (RHC)-- Hundreds of angry demonstrators staged a protest march in the northwest city of Columbus in Ohio to demand justice and transparency in investigations into the police killing of an African-American youth last week outside his home.
Protesters marched in the state capital toward the Ohio statehouse chanting, “No justice, no peace, no racist police” as they were closely followed by police officers on foot and in patrol vehicles, local news outlets reported on Saturday.
The protest rally came a week after 23-year-old Casey Christopher Goodson was shot to death by a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy assigned to a group of US marshals searching for a fugitive in the Northland neighborhood where Goodson lived.
Some participants in the march spilled into the streets, blocking traffic, but the gathering appeared peaceful and there were no reports of arrests. “I’m calling for justice and that’s all I’m calling for,” Goodson’s mother, Tamala Payne, said in a news conference. “My son was a peaceful man and I want his legacy to continue in peace.”
The officer who killed him claimed that he had seen Goodson carrying a gun and opened fire on him when Goodson ignored his order to drop the weapon. Goodson’s family, however, stated that he had been returning from a local sandwich shop and was shot in the back as he was about to enter his home. They further pointed out that he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
The fatal police shooting is the latest in a wave of killings of African Americans by police officers across the US that have triggered an upsurge of protest rallies over the persisting racial injustice and brutality by American law enforcement officers.
The Columbus Division of Police is investigating the shooting, along with the FBI, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
