Obama’s Dismissal of ‘Defund the Police’ Hides an Inconvenient Truth
Politicians continue to misframe abolitionist thinking — while the system continues to devour innocent Black men
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
Last week, a 23-year-old Black man was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy. In the back. And the only thing in his hand was a Subway sandwich.
The story of Casey Goodson Jr. is predictably familiar. Authorities initially claimed that Goodson had waved a gun outside of his car, but it didn’t take long for that to be proven to be a lie. Goodson was returning to his home in Columbus, Ohio, from a dentist appointment when Franklin County deputy Jason Meade shot and killed him from behind. Goodson had put his keys into his door before he was shot and fell into the kitchen — where his five-year-old brother and 72-year-old grandmother found him lying, the sandwich still in his hand.
Goodson had no committed crimes, had no criminal background, and was not the target of any investigation. Despite his being licensed to carry a concealed weapon — which he never brandished — the NRA won’t bother shedding any tears for him, because the real weapon in question was Goodson’s…
