State troopers identify inmate as suspect in corrections officer homicide

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WXIX) - A corrections officer at a state prison in Ross County died after an inmate assault on Christmas Day, state prison officials announced Wednesday.

Corrections Officer Andrew Lansing is a longtime, well respected employee at Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe “and his untimely death - on Christmas Day - is heartbreaking for his family, the entire Ross Correctional Institution family and our agency as a whole,” Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Annette Chambers-Smith said in a prepared statement shared on social media.

“Officer Lansing was loved by his colleagues and known to be a great support for his fellow RCI staff. He was a friendly, outgoing officer who treated everyone with respect and was always a professional.

“The loss of a staff person is difficult, but to lose a family member on Christmas Day at the hands of someone in our custody is a tragedy beyond comprehension. Instead of going home after his shift to be with his family on this holiday, Officer Lansing made the ultimate sacrifice, and our agency will never be the same,” her statement says.

“We ask that you keep Officer Lansing’s family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers at this devastating and tragic time.”

Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered that flags of the United States and the State of Ohio be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds throughout Ross County and at the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center, and Rhodes Tower as well as Ohio Department Rehabilitation and Correction Facilities now until sunset on the day of Officer Lansing’s funeral.

The inmate accused of the jail staff homicide has been identified as Rashawn L. Cannon, according to Sgt. Bridget Matt with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Cannon, 27, has been moved to another maximum security prison, the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, according to Chambers-Smith.

The prison is now operating under “restricted movement” while the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigates Lansing’s death.

The ODRC says Lansing worked at the Marion Correctional Institution in 1985 and took a break in service in 1986.

Lansing was hired at Ross Correctional Institution in 1994, took a break in service in 2007, and was reinstated in 2013.

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