Los Angeles County
A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was charged Thursday for the on-duty fatal shooting of an unarmed man in his vehicle three years ago.
“Protecting public safety is the highest responsibility for the entire law enforcement community. That extends first and foremost to those sworn to protect it,” District Attorney George Gascón said. “Policing is a difficult and trying job, but it does not excuse anyone from accountability under the law—especially when a human life is lost.”
Andrew Lyons, 37, was charged with one felony count of voluntary manslaughter and two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
On June 6, 2019, Lyons and another sheriff’s deputy responded to an apartment complex in Willowbrook. Both deputies exited their vehicle and approached a parked vehicle where 24-year-old Ryan Twyman was.
Twyman put the car in reverse and both deputies opened fire. The car came to a stop nearby.
Lyons is accused of retrieving his semiautomatic assault rifle and shooting into the vehicle after it stopped moving. Twyman was killed and his passenger was not injured.