Linn County officer cleared to go back to work

Story Published: Mar 25, 2008 at 1:04 PM PDT

By KVAL Web Staff

A sergeant with the Linn County Sheriff's Office who fatally shot a Brownsville man last month, has been cleared to go back to work.

An investigation by the sheriff's office concludes the shooting was justified.

Sergeant Dave Lawler shot 51-year old Robert Earl Thompson in Brownsville, after Thompson took teenage girl hostage at gun point inside a local gas station.

The investigation determined Sergeant Lawler was acting in self-defense and in the defense of others.

Lawler had been on administrative leave pending the investigation.

He is scheduled to return to work this week.

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