Tyler Janovsky Sentenced To 35 Years For Shooting Waseca Police Officer Arik Matson
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Tyler Janovsky, the man who shot and seriously wounded Waseca Police Officer Arik Matson, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.
In July, 37-year-old Janovsky pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder for shooting Matson.
Matson was seen arriving at the Waseca County Courthouse Friday, where the judge sentenced Janovsky to 240 months for the first count of attempted murder on Matson, and 180 months on the second count of attempted murder of the other officers.
Matson told the court he doesn't remember getting shot, saying, "One day you have everything, the next day it's gone."
Matson said if he were to do it all over again, he would still take that call.
"To all my brothers and sisters in law enforcement, thank you for all your support. And stay strong," Matson said.
At the sentencing, Janovsky said officers treated him better than he deserved after he shot Matson. He apologized to them and to Matson's family. He told the court that prison is "exactly where I need to be."
On the evening of Jan. 6, Matson was shot while responding to a call of a suspicious person in a neighborhood in Waseca. Janovsky was shot by other officers at the scene. His injuries were not life-threatening.
Since the incident, Matson has undergone multiple surgeries and extensive treatments. Matson just returned home about three weeks ago, after a lengthy recovery at a Nebraska rehab center.
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"I blamed myself for the defendant's actions. I blamed myself for that night, for what happened to Arik," Matson's partner Sgt. Timothy Schroeder said in court.
From the officers who worked alongside Matson, to the couple whose home that night became a crime scene, many people offered victim impact statements prior to Janovsky's sentencing.
"What we observed was heart-wrenching. The police officer and the intruder were both lying on our driveway wounded," homeowner Jack Williams said.
Among the people who spoke was the victim's brother.
"Our family endured weeks of watching our loved one lie motionless in a hospital bed. Some of the only movements we saw were him choking on a feeding tube, or squeezing our hand in pain as tears ran down his face," Jared Matson said.
Janovsky sat in court in a bulletproof vest, listening to family members talk about Arik Matson's struggle to relearn how to eat, speak and walk.
"Sometimes you have to let go of what the picture you thought life would be like, and just enjoy the life that you're living," wife Megan Matson said.
