The family of a man shot and killed by a Smith County sheriff’s deputy last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county and its sheriff, alleging the sheriff lied in news interviews about the circumstances of the shooting.
Jonathan Layton, 40, was shot and killed at his home in November 2024 in Smith County, where Tyler is located, by a sheriff’s deputy responding to a call.
Layton’s former employer reported that Layton had made a threat against the business and its employees after being fired.
The sheriff’s office said at the time of the shooting that Layton had raised a gun toward deputies after answering the door, according to news reports immediately after the shooting.
The lawsuit, which was filed last week in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, seeks the resignation of Sheriff Larry Smith and the firing of the deputy who shot Layton.
The suit accuses Smith of making false statements to news reporters about the shooting, alleges the sheriff’s office used excessive force and accuses the vice president of FaithCo, an electric and plumbing company where Layton worked, of making a false report to police about Layton threatening the business.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office gave a statement from the law offices of David Iglesias, which said the county, Smith and the deputy believe the evidence shows the deputy acted correctly given the circumstances.
“Smith County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call for help from a local business alleging that a disgruntled former employee might return to his former workplace and potentially commit a violent act,” the statement read. “When officers went to the former employee’s home, he eventually came to the front door with a gun. Upon seeing the former employee holding the gun and recognizing a significant threat, the deputy fired. Unfortunately, the former employee died. The deputy who fired was cleared of any criminal charges by a grand jury.”
Lawyers for Layton’s family held a news conference last week during which they showed body-camera footage of the shooting, which they said contests the sheriff’s office’s version of events.
The attorneys also showed surveillance video of the confrontation between Layton and employees of FaithCo after Layton was fired.
During the confrontation, which was supposedly a dispute over whether certain items were owned by Layton or FaithCo, Layton can be heard saying “I’ll take care of it myself” and “I got something that can take care of this at the house‚" which the family’s attorneys said was not intended as a threat.
A representative for FaithCo declined to comment when reached by phone last week by The Dallas Morning News for comment.
The body-camera footage showed the moments when deputies arrived at Layton’s home. After speaking with someone who answered the door, Layton walked outside holding a handgun. When deputies ordered him to drop the gun, he turned back into the home and the deputy opened fire.
It is unclear if Layton was raising the gun, as the arm holding the gun is out of view in the video. Lawyers for Layton’s family said he was walking back into the house to put down his firearm when he was shot. He can be heard in the video saying “I was putting it down” after being shot.
A grand jury declined to indict the deputy following the shooting, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.