A Hamilton County judge has handed a three-year prison sentence to Patrick Lyons, the man shot by Cincinnati police after he charged at officers with a knife in Walnut Hills last year. The June 11 decision gives Lyons 36 months behind bars, with credit for roughly 15 months he has already served. Lyons, who has since recovered from his injuries, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and inducing panic.
Body camera footage of the encounter
Body-camera video and dispatch audio capture how quickly things escalated in the 3000 block of Gilbert Avenue after officers responded to a 911 caller who reported a man armed with both a knife and a gun. In the footage, 31-year-old Lyons can be seen sprinting toward officers with a knife in his right hand before an officer fires two shots. Lyons was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery. As reported by WCPO, police released the video and dispatch recordings early in the investigation.
Sentence and courtroom remarks
Common Pleas Judge Leah Dinkelacker imposed a 36-month sentence and granted Lyons credit for about 15 months already served in custody. Lyons had pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and inducing panic. His attorney told the court the confrontation was a suicide attempt, and Lyons addressed the judge directly, saying, “I can acknowledge I was wrong, I had no criminal intent,” and calling his actions “selfish,” as reported by WLWT. Judge Dinkelacker said she considered Lyons’ post-release control status, prior violent convictions, mental-health history, and his expressed remorse in deciding the punishment.
Local context and oversight
The shooting on March 3, 2025, drew heightened attention amid a run of recent officer-involved incidents and triggered both internal and outside reviews. Cincinnati Police Chief Terri Theetge said officers followed department protocol and that the case was referred for additional investigation. Local reporting also noted that Lyons had been out of prison only a few months after serving more than a decade for an aggravated robbery conviction, a detail that factored into public debate and prosecutorial scrutiny of the case, according to WCPO.
Legal note
Following the shooting, Lyons was initially indicted on multiple counts of felonious assault. Under the plea deal, those charges were reduced to resisting arrest and inducing panic, leading to the three-year sentence now in place. As reported by WLWT, the outcome will shape the terms of Lyons’ supervised release and any post-release control he must follow once he completes his prison term.
