Lt. Rodney Osborne, 43, a 13-year corrections veteran from Orient, Ohio, died on April 9, 2024, after being struck during a training exercise at the Corrections Training Academy’s tactical firing range. The incident happened shortly after 11 a.m. during a special prison response team mirror drill led by David Pearson, a firearms instructor and West Regional Special Operations Commander. Pearson reportedly fired a live round he believed was a blank; Osborne was hit in the chest and later pronounced dead at Mount Carmel in Grove City despite resuscitation efforts.

Osborne served at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville and was a member of the honor guard, the Special Response Team, and the statewide STAR team. He had recently been named Employee of the Year by colleagues. The Ohio Highway Patrol opened an investigation and initially treated the death as reckless homicide; Pearson was placed on administrative leave.

Osborne is survived by his wife and three children. If anyone witnessed the April 9 exercise or has information about the training procedures that day, please share what is known.