A former state firearms training instructor pleaded guilty Monday in a Pickaway County court to a count of negligent homicide in connection with the shooting death of an officer during a training exercise.
David Pearson, 44, of West Chester, will be sentenced in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court at a later date. Pickaway County Prosecutor Judy Wolford told 星空无限传媒 she is recommending a maximum sentence of six months and a $1,000 fine. The charge is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Pearson shot Lt. Rodney Osborne during a "dry" training exercise at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction training academy in Orient in April. That means the exercise should not have involved live ammunition.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol investigative report said that Pearson recalled demonstrating the drill for Osborne one time, which was when Pearson discharged his pistol.
The report said that Pearson told investigators he didn't intend to shoot Osborne.
"I wanted to help him," Pearson told investigators in the report provided to 星空无限传媒 by the Pickaway County Prosecutor's Office. "That's all I was trying to do. I just wanted to make him better."
According to the report, one trooper asked Pearson about the guns before the shooting. "Whenever you're downrange and they've been safety checked, it's okay for them to draw from the holster and point downrange even though you're downrange as well?"
Pearson responded, "Mhm, because it's a dry fire drill. That's the understanding. We've done all of our clearance procedures and everything else."
The trooper asked, "And again, going back to that cardinal safety rule 'Treat all firearms as if they're loaded' up until they're safety checked?" Pearson responded, "It's considered a safe environment. If that makes sense?"
During his interview with investigators, Pearson said, "I thought I was clear. I thought I was good. I thought it was clean. I thought it was clear. I thought I did my clearance."
An obituary said Osborne, 43, of Sciotodale in Scioto County, was a 13-year corrections officer at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
