COLUMBUS, Ohio — The instructor charged with the shooting death of an officer during a training exercise earlier this year pleaded guilty to negligent homicide on Monday.
David Pearson appeared in Pickaway County Court of Common Pleas where he changed his initial plea of not guilty. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. His sentencing date has not been scheduled.
Pearson was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide in the shooting death of Lt. Rodney Osborne on April 9.
Osborne’s family was in the courtroom Monday, but did not speak with 10TV on camera. One member did say that the family was waiting to see what happened at sentencing.
Pickaway County Prosecutor Judy Wolford said this was a case unlike any other that she’s experienced in her time practicing law.
“It’s not a run of the mill case. It’s a tragic, tragic event. I hope his guilty plea will help the family in their grief,” Wolford said. “It weighs on my whole office. It’s a difficult case. We have a death that never should have happened and here we are.”
Osborne was shot during the training exercise at the Corrections Training Academy in Pickaway County. An autopsy report revealed Osborne was struck just above his bulletproof vest. OSHP was investigating his death as a reckless homicide.
Documents were provided to 10TV by the attorney of Osborne's widow. The documents say Osborne, along with 14 others, were taking part in a 40-hour training exercise for the Special Tactics and Response Team at the Corrections Training Academy in Orient. It was led by Pearson and five other S.T.A.R instructors.
In his statement to his attorney, Pearson said he noticed that Lt. Osborne was struggling to draw his pistol from his holster during one of the exercises and get it leveled on the target. He then stepped in front of Osborne to do what he called a “mirror drill.” He instructed Osborne to mirror his actions while the two were standing face to face. Both Pearson and Osborne drew their pistols.
When Pearson pulled the trigger, his pistol went off and the round hit Osborne in the chest, documents say.
The OSHP said the ODRC’s policies and procedures do not reference a “mirror drill,” but there are some instances where someone can point a firearm at another person if certain conditions are met.
The report reads “prior to the shooting, Mr. Pearson’s actions did not meet the specific conditions required by ODRC policy and procedure to point his firearm at Mr. Osborne.”
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction fired Pearson in August.
Osborne worked with the ODRC for 13 years and worked at the Southern Ohio Corrections Facility in Scioto County, according to Director Annette Chambers-Smith. He was recently named employee of the year at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility where he was the commander of the Special Response Team.
10TV reached out to ODRC Monday morning if any policies have been changed as a result of April’s incident. An ODRC spokesperson responded with “DRC proactively engaged with the National Tactical Officers Association to request that they conduct an independent, third-party comprehensive review of the agency’s weapons training and handling policies. The three-person team began their work in September.”