Complaint filed in the Ohio Court of Claims alleges warnings were ignored before the fatal Ross Correctional Institution attack.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The family of Corrections Officer Andrew Steven Lansing filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction on Dec. 24, alleging systemic failures and ignored warnings led to Lansing’s killing at Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe on Dec. 25, 2024.
The case, brought by Lansing’s widow, Chun Wong-Lansing, as executor of his estate, marks a pivotal escalation in a year of scrutiny over prison safety following the Christmas Day assault. The complaint outlines alleged lapses in supervision, staffing and inmate classification around the man accused of attacking Lansing, and contends the incident was foreseeable and preventable. State prison leaders previously acknowledged the loss while saying internal reviews found no policy violations. Prosecutors separately charged the inmate in 2025. The civil lawsuit asks the court to hold the state liable and to award damages to Lansing’s family.
According to the complaint, Lansing, a longtime officer at the medium-security Ross Correctional Institution, was attacked while working overtime on Christmas morning after reporting contraband and rule violations earlier in the year. The filing names the state prison system as defendant and describes Director Annette Chambers-Smith and then–Ross warden William Cool in recounting the agency’s responsibilities. It says the suspected assailant, incarcerated at Ross in 2023 and 2024, racked up discipline issues and allegedly threatened Lansing months before the killing. Family attorney Michael Benson previously said staffing and monitoring gaps left Lansing isolated during the assault, adding, “No one came because no one was watching,” in a television interview. The department has said it does not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit lists five counts including wrongful death, negligence and personal injury on behalf of the estate. It says Lansing’s March 2024 contraband enforcement led to a conduct report and that the same inmate was later found with synthetic drugs, instigated fights, and disobeyed orders, yet remained at the same security level. The filing says a direct threat — including a statement to “kill” Lansing after a quiet-down order in April — drew only limited discipline and no lasting reclassification. It also alleges equipment and staffing shortfalls in yard posts and guard shacks and faults the agency’s movement controls on the yard where the attack happened. The Ohio Court of Claims docket stamp shows the complaint was submitted Dec. 24 with a right-to-sue letter from the state risk office issued in May 2025.
In the months after the killing, state authorities restricted inmate movement at the prison and transferred the suspected assailant to a higher-security facility. The Ohio State Highway Patrol led the criminal investigation. In March 2025, a Ross County grand jury indicted the inmate on aggravated murder and related charges. By September, the department released an internal death investigation that concluded staff did not violate department policy during the incident, a finding that angered some officers and Lansing’s supporters. The agency said it reviewed staffing, camera coverage and yard procedures and emphasized employee support in the wake of the death.
The complaint was filed on behalf of Wong-Lansing and the couple’s next of kin. It seeks damages for wrongful death, survivorship and other claims allowed under state law, along with litigation costs. The Ohio Court of Claims has jurisdiction over lawsuits against the state and will set a schedule for the case, including the state’s answer and discovery deadlines. No trial date has been set. A separate criminal case remains active, with future hearings expected in Ross County as prosecutors pursue the homicide charges against the inmate accused in the attack.
Outside the courthouse, Lansing’s colleagues have described him as a steady presence on difficult shifts. Officers at Ross and other state prisons held moments of silence this week on the one-year anniversary of his death. “Andy looked out for people,” Benson said earlier this year, recalling Lansing’s decision to take overtime on the holiday so coworkers with young children could be home. In Chillicothe, neighbors placed a wreath near the prison entrance and a blue ribbon at the guard shack door, a quiet tribute to an officer killed on duty.
As of Friday, the lawsuit had been filed and served, and the prison department had not filed a response. The next milestone is the state’s initial answer and the court’s scheduling order in early 2026. The criminal case continues on a separate track.
Author note: Last updated December 26, 2025.