A St. Landry Parish jury found a former Opelousas Police officer guilty on three counts in connection with an alleged excessive force case.
KATC was the only local station in court when the jury decided Tyron Andrepont did commit malfeasance in office by hitting and choking a teenager who was restrained in a hospital bed because he was having a mental health crisis.
Andrepont was accused of five counts of malfeasance; the jury found him guilty on three counts. On another count, the jury found him not guilty and on a fifth count, the jury could not agree.
On count one, he was accused of hitting the teen in the face. He was found guilty on that count.
On count two, he was accused of using his hand to "choke" the teen. He was found guilty on that count.
On count three, he was accused of using his arm and elbow to "choke" the teen. He was found guilty on that count.
On count four, he was accused of pushing the teen's leg; he was found not guilty on that count.
On count five, he was accused of pulling the teen's arm while his wrist was handcuffed; the jury was unable to agree on a verdict on that count.
Andrepont faces up to five years in jail or prison, as well as fines of up to $5,000, on each of the counts he was found guilty of. The court ordered a pre-sentence investigation be conducted.
The incident happened in October 2019 but Andrepont wasn't arrested until June 2020. Between the incident and his arrest, Andrepont was on administrative leave. He tried to resign, but the City Council rejected his resignation. Then, in July 2020, the council voted to terminate him.
At the time of his arrest, KATC Investigates turned up several cases in which Andrepont was disciplined while a member of Opelousas Police. To read that story, click here.
