Maverick Lyon has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit saying Albany police shot him at least five times on Jan. 6 after he had already dropped a knife and stepped outside his family’s home in Albany, Oregon. The complaint says the college lacrosse player was following commands when officers opened fire, leaving him badly wounded and in the hospital for four weeks.
The filing puts his case at the center of a family crisis that began the day before, when David and Laura Lyon told a Benton County probation officer that Dakota Lyon was acting dangerously toward relatives and had relapsed into drug use. On Jan. 6, David Lyon called 911 after Dakota Lyon allegedly took Maverick Lyon hostage at knifepoint inside the home. Maverick Lyon grabbed another knife in self-defense, escaped through the back door and, the lawsuit says, mouthed “help me” to officers who had surrounded the house and could see the brothers through a window.
That detail matters because it goes to the heart of the dispute. The family says Maverick Lyon was the person in danger and had already done what officers told him to do. Police say they were responding to a domestic disturbance and encountered a person with a knife. The lawsuit says officers still shot him in the chest, back and face after he came outside and no longer posed a threat. The Albany Police Department said two officers fired and then rendered medical aid until emergency personnel arrived.
Lyon’s injuries were severe enough to require major surgery. His attorneys said surgeons removed half of his right lung, along with his spleen and appendix, and performed extensive reconstructive surgery on his digestive system. David Lyon said he never imagined that calling 911 would leave him wondering whether his son would survive, and he and Laura Lyon said the family called for protection and instead watched the people they turned to nearly kill Maverick Lyon.
The case is now headed into federal court as a civil rights claim alleging excessive force and negligence. Benton County said it does not comment on pending litigation, while the police department maintains that its officers encountered a knife-wielding person during a domestic call. Dakota Lyon was later sentenced to more than six years, but the filing leaves open the question that now shadows the shooting: why officers decided to fire after Maverick Lyon had dropped the knife and come outside.
