Man found guilty of manslaughter in death of Zachary firefighter/reserve officer

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - An East Baton Rouge Parish jury found a man guilty on Monday, Oct. 10, for the death of a Zachary police officer and firefighter.

The jury found Albert Franklin guilty of manslaughter in the death of Christopher Lawton, 41, who was killed while trying to serve a warrant to Franklin in a Walmart parking lot on March 12, 2018.

In Louisiana, a conviction on a charge of manslaughter carries a sentence of 15 to 40 years in prison. A sentencing date has been set for Jan. 13, 2023.

Christopher Lawton worked with the Zachary Fire Department as well as the police department... — Christopher Lawton worked with the Zachary Fire Department as well as the police department (Source: Zachary Fire Department)

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Christopher Lawton worked with the Zachary Fire Department as well as the police department... — Christopher Lawton worked with the Zachary Fire Department as well as the police department (Source: Zachary Fire Department)

Lawton was killed while undercover at the Walmart with another officer attempting to serve a felony drug-related warrant. He was pinned between the U-Haul truck and a grocery cart receptacle as the killer attempted to flee. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Lawton was the first police officer in the history of Zachary’s department to be killed in the line of duty.

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