Maverick Lyon says Albany officers used excessive force after he escaped his brother and dropped a knife outside his family home.
ALBANY, OR — An Oregon college student who survived being held at knifepoint by his older brother and was then shot five times by responding police officers has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force, negligence and other violations stemming from the January encounter.
Maverick Lyon, 21, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oregon on Nov. 2 against the city of Albany, officers Matt Thomas and Engle Diaz, Benton County and county probation officer Joshua Hall. The case challenges the police response to the Jan. 6 confrontation at Lyon’s family home in North Albany. Lyon’s lawyers say he had dropped a knife he carried while trying to escape his brother and no longer posed a threat when officers fired. A Benton County district attorney’s review reached a different conclusion in March, finding the officers’ use of deadly force legally justified based on what they could perceive during the rapidly unfolding encounter.
The confrontation began after Lyon’s father, David Lyon, called authorities at about 10:50 a.m. and reported that his older son, John “Dakota” Lyon, was holding Maverick at knifepoint. David Lyon was away from the home but could see what was happening through a security camera, according to the district attorney’s investigation. He told dispatchers that Dakota was shirtless and wearing pajama bottoms. Police later determined that Maverick was the victim of his brother’s actions and that Dakota had threatened him with a large kitchen knife and forced him through the house.
Investigators said Maverick eventually obtained a separate knife while still inside the home. The district attorney’s review said Officer Thomas arrived near the back door and saw two people through a window, including one person in a gray top and another who was shirtless. At least one appeared to have a knife. Thomas drew his handgun and issued commands including “step away” and “I see the knife, step away,” according to the review. The memorandum said the commands were not directed at either brother by name. Diaz arrived moments later and also drew his firearm.
The central dispute in the lawsuit concerns what happened as Maverick came through the back door. His attorneys allege he dropped the knife, came outside and presented no threat before officers shot him at least five times. The lawsuit also alleges officers had information that could have helped them distinguish Maverick, the hostage, from Dakota, including clothing descriptions provided by their father. The district attorney’s investigation found that Maverick dropped the knife just as he crossed the doorway but concluded the officers could not have recognized that development before they fired. Thomas fired twice and Diaz fired five rounds, according to the district attorney’s review.
Benton County District Attorney Ryan Joslin announced in March that the shooting did not warrant criminal prosecution. His office said the legal question was whether the officers reasonably believed deadly force was needed to protect themselves or other officers from an imminent threat. Investigators had the benefit of reviewing body-camera footage, other video and evidence after the fact, Joslin said, while Thomas and Diaz had only fractions of a second to react. The district attorney’s office acknowledged that Maverick was the victim of his brother’s crimes and described the outcome as an “absolute tragedy.”
Lyon suffered severe injuries and spent about four weeks hospitalized, according to his attorneys. They said surgeons removed half of his right lung, his spleen and his appendix and performed extensive surgery on his digestive system. The shooting also interrupted his education and athletic career at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, where he plays lacrosse. The lawsuit alleges that officers ordered Lyon to roll over and submit to handcuffing after he had been shot. Albany police said after the January shooting that officers immediately provided medical aid until emergency personnel arrived.
The case followed a separate criminal prosecution of Dakota Lyon. In June, he pleaded guilty to attempted kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful use of a weapon and coercion. A judge sentenced him to 77 months in prison followed by two years of post-prison supervision. Prosecutors said Dakota had accused Maverick of conspiring with their father to harm him before arming himself with a kitchen knife, grabbing his younger brother and refusing repeated pleas to release him.
Maverick Lyon’s federal lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages and argues that failures by both police and county officials contributed to his injuries. Benton County has said it does not comment on pending litigation, while the city of Albany did not immediately respond to a media request for comment on the newly filed case. The allegations in Lyon’s civil complaint have not been adjudicated, and the district attorney’s earlier determination concerned whether the officers’ conduct was criminally justified rather than the civil claims now before the federal court.
Author note: Last updated November 5, 2026.