Mansfield officer returns to duty after shooting

Mansfield police Officer Paul Webb Jr. returned to work Tuesday and has been reinstated to full duty following a fatal officer-involved shooting last month, according to a news release from Mansfield police.

The Mansfield Division of Police has completed an initial administrative review of the Aug. 4 shooting death of Sean Rowe in his home at 3340 Peterson Road, Mansfield police Chief Keith Porch said Tuesday.

The primary investigation is being conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and is still pending. Once Ohio BCI'S independent investigation is completed, it will be presented to the Richland County Prosecutor's Office for review, according to Porch.

Rowe, the 38-year-old Army veteran who was shot and killed by a local SWAT team after a three-hour standoff, was hit by at least six bullets, an autopsy found.

One of the bullets entered Rowe's chest, struck his aorta and traveled through his right lung. Another bullet entered his abdomen, though no internal organs were injured from that round.

The other four bullets entered Rowe's right arm, left forearm and the front and back of his right thigh.

Lee D. Lehman, chief deputy coroner of Montgomery County, conducted the autopsy. He said in a report that Rowe died of multiple gunshot wounds and has ruled his death a homicide.

Webb Jr. was a member of the Allied

Special Operations Response Team, or ASORT, a local SWAT team that responded to the Mifflin Township home.

Per departmental policy, two officers that shot Rowe — Webb Jr. and Rod Roose — were placed on administrative leave. Webb, of Mansfield police, and Roose, of Ontario police, were not injured.

Hundreds of pages of documents, obtained by the News Journal through public records requests, offered a glimpse into the events leading up to the fatal police shooting.

The documents also provide a portrait of a deeply troubled war veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had a vendetta against his girlfriend's ex-husband, with whom she shares a son. lwhitmir@gannett.com 419-521-7223

Twitter: @Lwhitmir

NEWS JOURNAL MONROE TROMBLY/ Leading up to the Aug. 4 standoff and fatal shooting, neighbors of 3340 Peterson Road called the sheriff's office at least 10 times to report loud music and shots fired.