Fatal shooting of correctional officer during training exercise being investigated as homicide

Father of three Lieutenant Rodney Osborne, 43, was fatally shot in the chest at the Correctional Training Academy in Pickaway County on 9 April

A fatal shooting that left an Ohio correctional officer dead is being investigated as a homicide, according to a report.

The officer, Lieutenant Rodney Osborne, 43, was shot in the chest during a training exercise at the Correctional Training Academy in Pickaway County on 9 April. Osborne was taken to a hospital for treatment but ultimately died from his wound.

Annette Chambers-Smith, the state's Corrections Director, said immediately after the incident that the shooting "appears to be a tragic accident." Osborne was married and was a father to three children.

Now, a state employee is being investigated for "reckless homicide," according to a report from the Columbus Dispatch.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol issued a heavily redacted 18-page report concerning the incident, which included redactions of the name of the officer who allegedly shot Osborne.

The report does include the names of approximately a dozen witnesses and basic details about the incident. When reporters at the Columbus Dispatch contacted the witnesses for comment, the newspaper said they were told they had been instructed not to talk to the media.

Ohio State Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Lt Rodney Osborne was shot and killed during a training exercise in Pickaway County, Ohio on 9 April (Ohio State Department of Rehabilitation)

The Independent has reached out to the OSHP for comment.

Colleagues on-site reportedly tried to perform CPR on Osborne after the shooting before transporting him to Mount Carmel Grove City for treatment. He died at the hospital.

A 911 call placed the morning of the incident revealed that Osborne had been taken to the hospital in a Chevy Silverado truck. Evidence was collected from the vehicle during a subsequent investigation by Pickaway County deputies, NBC 4 reports.

Osborne previously worked on special operations teams within the department and had served at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio.

He was a 13-year veteran and had been part of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility's honour guard. He had been named employee of the year a week before he was killed.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction placed David Pearson, a special operations commander, on administrative leave for the duration of the shooting investigation. Due to the redactions in the OSHP's report, it is unclear what role, if any, Mr Pearson had in the events of 9 April.