It was a solemn day in southern Ohio Monday, April 15, 2024. Hundreds of people packed into Cornerstone Nazarene Church to say their final goodbyes to Leiutenant Rodney Osborne.

Lt. Osborne was shot and killed during a training exercise last week in Pickaway County. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is still investigating what exactly happened, but the ODRC has called it nothing more than a “tragic accident.”

Strong, a go-getter, and a joker. Those are just some of the words people used to describe Lt. Osborne’s personality Monday. His family was there surrounded by law enforcement and corrections staff from all over the state and as far away as Connecticut and Oklahoma.

Lt. Osborne was recently named employee of the year at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility where he was the commander of the Special Response Team. The men and women he oversaw marched in uniform to salute their commander one last time.  Many in attendance were his colleagues from the SOCF. Sergeant Kim King worked closely with him and said he was nothing less than the best at everything he did.

“Anything he put his hands on was just magic,” Sgt. King said. “Everything he did, he excelled at. He was a magnificent human being, he really was. This one is a hard one to swallow.”

Lt. Rodney Osborne leaves behind a wife, three children, a grandchild, and many extended family.

CPOF would like to thank the CPOF honor guard team for representing all of us. Thank you to Honor Guard Sergeant Howard Dowdell, Honor Guard Sergeant Michael Hire, and Honor Guard Officer Patrick Gallaway for your constant dedication to “taking care of our own.”