In one small NKY town, a police shooting gets another look

It seemed like an open-and-shut case three years ago when an Elsmere police officer shot and killed a 21-year-old man as he was fleeing a bar parking lot in his car.

Officer David Byrd has been back on the force since he was cleared by the Kenton County commonwealth's attorney in the June 23, 2012, shooting death of Michael Godawa. Then, in 2014, a judge dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Godawa's parents in federal court in Covington.

But that lawsuit is back in court.

A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati last week reinstated the suit against Byrd, saying there's enough evidence to reasonably support the parents' claim that the suit should go forward.

Godawa's parents, Edward "Don" Godawa of Elsmere and Tina Godawa of Park Hills, claim their son was simply trying to get away from Byrd, and the officer should never have fired a shot.

Don Godawa this week expressed relief that the suit will go forward.

"I'll fight this until the last breath that comes out of me," a tearful Godawa said. "I know my son. He wasn't a bad kid at all."

The reinstatement of the lawsuit comes after an Elsmere Police officer shot and killed a man on Aug. 10 in the Heartland Pointe mobile home park. That case, under investigation by the Kentucky State Police, is the second officer-involved shooting in three years in a city of with just 8,500 residents and a police force of 12.

On a summer night three years ago, Elsmere's Byrd shot through the rear passenger window of Godawa's car as the 21-year-old headed toward the exit of the parking lot of the Finish Line at 4351 Dixie Highway. The deadly bullet lodged in his lung.

"This was a justified use of lethal force," said Byrd's attorney, Jeff Mando. "I was extremely disappointed in the Sixth Circuit's ruling. Michael Godawa attempted to flee a lawful stop. He totally attempted to run Officer Byrd over. He put Officer Byrd's life and the patrons of the Finish Line who were in that area in danger."

But the Godawas' attorney, Christopher Roach, placed the blame on Byrd: "You can't deny Michael was trying to leave," Roach said. "Byrd put his body in front of the car to keep him from getting away... There's no danger to Officer Byrd at the time (the shot was fired)."

Both attorneys point to videotaped evidence to bolster their accounts.

What the videos saw

Byrd was wearing a lapel camera when he responded to a call about a young man wandering, possibly drinking, in the parking lot of the Finish Line. That video and the Finish Line security video captured some of what unfolded when he got to the scene.

The Enquirer viewed both videotapes.

The video evidence is dark and unclear, in part because the encounter happened at about 1 a.m.

When Byrd approached Godawa, the young man was in his car. The two spoke for a while, and a reluctant Godawa eventually agreed to a sobriety test.

The officer stepped away from the car to call for police backup. That's when a critical series of events unfolded: Godawa pulled backward out of the parking space. His car knocked over the officer's unattended bike. Godawa then drove forward, toward the exit of the lot. The officer yelled, "Stop!" repeatedly, and appeared to run or walk quickly alongside the moving car, positioning himself in front of the car, on the passenger side. The car made contact with the officer's knee. Byrd appeared to stumble and regain his footing. Still the car continued forward.

Then, as Godawa kept driving toward the exit, the officer fired the lethal shot through the rear passenger-side window.

Despite his wound, Godawa drove out of the bar parking lot. But he then turned around in a parking lot along Dixie Highway and headed back, according to court documents.

Throughout the incident, Byrd was talking by radio, calling for help, relaying what had happened. He said shots were fired.

When Godawa's car headed back toward the Finish Line, Byrd was standing in the middle of Dixie Highway. He positioned himself facing the oncoming car and screamed for Godawa to stop. He pulled his gun out and pointed it at the oncoming car. Byrd moved away as the car continued past him. And the car kept going until it hit a utility pole. Godawa was slumped over the steering wheel, dying.

"He didn't even get out of the parking lot and he was executed," his anguished father said.

Whose side does video support?

At question is whether Godawa "targeted" Byrd, as Byrd claimed, or whether Byrd was chasing the car, "gun drawn" and shot fired, "and not in harm's way at that critical moment," the court panel said.

Lawyers for the police officer and the Godawas both say the evidence supports their interpretation.

"The statements I made are confirmed and illustrated in the videotape evidence," Mando said, referring to the bodycam and the Finish Line video. He vowed to review all legal options, including asking the full Sixth Circuit, instead of just three judges, to review the evidence, and, if necessary, taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Roach said the video evidence clearly shows the fault lies with Byrd.

"The bullet went through the back passenger-side window. There is no danger to Officer Byrd at the time that happened," Roach said.

Philip Taliaferro, an attorney who represented Byrd immediately after the incident, said he was disappointed the suit was reinstated to the federal court in Covington.

"This officer put his life on the line, and he was almost killed," Taliaferro said. "The car was running right at him. This was not only a risk to Officer Byrd but if that guy kept on driving, who knows what other lives he would have endangered? This officer was not only defending his own life but trying to defend the lives of others."

A son's last words

Godawa's father sobbed, saying his life has been ruined with his son's death and describing his pain: "I feel like (I'm) undergoing surgery with no pain medication."

"I am a God-fearing man, and my family is. We're Christian people," Don Godawa said. "We're not out to get anyone. We just want justice."

He said he remembers his son calling him and inviting him to the Finish Line the Friday before the shooting.

Michael Godawa's words at the end of that conversation were the last words his father would ever hear from his son.

"He said 'Dad, I love you.' The next thing I know, he's gone."

Latest Elsmere Police shooting:

Elsmere Police responded to a call of a domestic fight in which a man was stabbing a woman, Maribel Angeles Garcia in the Heartland Pointe mobile home park the evening of Aug. 10.

Police and a neighbor at the scene said Gustavo Ponce-Galo refused to comply with officers' orders to drop a knife. Investigators said that Ponce-Galo charged at officer Michael J. Metzger, who has been with the Elsmere Police Department for two years, and that Metzger shot and killed the 42-year-old Ponce-Galo, according to the state police.

After the shooting, police found Maribel Angeles Garcia, 34, with life-threatening injuries, state police said. She was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where she died.

Kentucky State Police spokesman David Jones said this week that the case remains under investigation. When the KSP finishes its review, it will hand over the case to Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders for possible grand jury review, Jones said.