Press conference yields few answers in officer involved shooting
Published 7:47 pm Monday, December 31, 2018
By Mary Meaux
A press conference on Monday regarding a fatal officer involved shooting left many questions unanswered as the investigation continues.
Port Arthur Police Chief Tim Duriso, accompanied by Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham, was at the podium at the police station while some of the city’s legal team, as well as some of the family of the deceased and media, watched.
Duriso gave the basic information about the Friday afternoon incident — that an officer attempted to stop and detain a man in the 1600 block of Kansas that was carrying a large weapon. The officer got out of his patrol car and asked the man to drop the weapon and he did not comply as he continued towards him. The officer feared for his life and fired several rounds from his service revolver striking the man.
Emergency medical services were called but the man died from his injuries.
The DA’s office along with the Texas Rangers is investigating the incident.
Duriso said he could not answer any questions regarding the active investigation and deferred the press conference to Wortham who also gave very little information other than a statement about the deceased.
“I can tell you the pack of cigarettes taken from the man’s pocket was sent to the lab and tested positive for PCP,” Wortham said.
The deceased was identified to media as Shane Lyons by family members.
But there were many questions that went unanswered because this is an active investigation. Social media posts from the man’s family claim that he was carrying a machete.
Neither Duriso or Wortham addressed whether the officer — who is on paid administrative leave pending the investigation — was answering a call in the area when he uncounted Lyons.
Once complete, the case will be turned over to the grand jury.
The family speaks
Andre Molo, older brother of Lyons, and Alicia Valentine, sister-in-law of the deceased, spoke about their loved one and the incident.
Molo felt he didn’t get a lot of information from the press conference and police and the DA didn’t want to answer questions.
But, he said, a private meeting between the family and Duriso did clear some things up for them though many questions remain.
On the day of the shooting Molo was five to 10 minutes away and rushed to the scene when he was called.
“By the time I got there he was deceased, covered up in the middle of the street,” Molo said.
Lyons is described as a big guy, 6-foot 3-inches tall and 280 pounds. He was the father of five, a substitute teacher and manager at a warehouse in the city. He was a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School and had a full scholarship to Prairie View A&M University for football.
“He was really a humble giant,” he said. “As big as he was he was soft spoken. Not the type of person to yell and scream. Never was. He was very humble.”
Valentine was more outspoken in the phone call Monday afternoon. She was asked for her thoughts on Wortham’s comment about the cigarettes with PCP that was in Lyons’ pocket.
“Whether PCP or any type drug, he should not have been gunned down, especially if there were no phone calls. He was minding his own business,” Valentine said.
She said the officer who shot her brother-in-law was a rookie who was alone and there were no calls of a man being violent in the streets.”
The family is also upset because, they said, the officer did not try to use a bullhorn or Taser instead of shooting him.
“We want answers like any other family in this kind of situation,” she said. “Answers. That’s all we want.”
Funeral arrangements for Lyons are pending at this time.
