Police refute statement in officer-involved death

Monday, Feb. 15, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

Henderson Police say there is nothing to a statement that a man shot to death by an officer who had been stabbed several times Thursday was trying to surrender.

"Three witnesses within feet of the incident all described the same thing," Police Chief Tommy Burns said.

What they saw, he said, was an officer who had been slashed by a knife-wielding man backing up, pulling his revolver and firing in self-defense.

Burns said the officer was stabbed in the chest, but his bulletproof vest prevented a possible fatal injury.

The officer, whose identity could not be confirmed today, was cut twice on the arm and once in the head requiring between 15 and 20 stitches.

He was treated and released at University Medical Center.

Burns identified the dead man as J.D. Daniels, 21, of Henderson.

He said earlier in the day Daniels had kidnapped and beaten his ex-girlfriend and possibly intended to kill her.

"We believe he intended to kill the girl," Burns said.

The girl escaped after being beaten and called the police.

An officer responding to the domestic disturbance and possible kidnapping call at the Oasis Greens Apartments, 2001 Ramrod Ave., was stabbed four times when he came upon the suspect at the bottom of the stairway leading to the girl's upstairs apartment.

Burns said the officer was cut with a pocket knife with a four-inch, folding blade.

As the officer backed away from the suspect, he pulled out his weapon and shot the man several times, Burns said.

Daniels was arrested on a domestic battery and coercion charge in January after an altercation with his girlfriend, who lives in the apartment complex where Thursday's shooting took place, Burns said.

"He had been served with a temporary protective order on that issue on Jan. 22, 1999," Burns said.

Burns gave this description of Thursday's events:

Daniels went to the woman's apartment about 2 p.m. Thursday, kicked in the door and kidnapped her.

While they were driving in his car, she faked unconsciousness. Daniels stopped the car and got out, and the woman took the car and drove back to her apartment.

A short time later, she saw Daniels being dropped off at the apartment by a friend, so she fled in his car.

"She went to a friend's house in another part of Green Valley and called police," Burns said. "She said she thought the suspect might still be at her apartment."

Daniels was seen with a baseball bat and a machete with a two-foot-long blade, Burns said. The machete was found at the top of the stairs near the girl's apartment.

Police went to where she was calling from as well as to the apartment from which she fled.

By 4:15 p.m., Burns said, two officers were searched the Oasis Gardens complex for Daniels. One officer saw Daniels when he first arrived but did not realize the man was a suspect.

However, Daniels apparently saw the police, and went up a flight of stairs to the second-floor apartments to hide the machete and baseball bat.

Daniels came back down the flight of stairs with both hands behind his back. At the bottom of the stairs, the Henderson policeman stopped him and asked for ID, Burns said.

Instead of producing identification, Daniels drew a folding knife with a four-inch blade from behind his back and slashed the officer several times, Burns said.

As the officer fell back, he pulled his weapon and fired.

The officer who was stabbed has been placed on paid administrative leave, normal procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting.

The last time an officer was involved in a fatal shooting in the valley was on Nov. 10, when a Metro officer shot and killed Frank Lemos to end his front-end loader rampage at the Apex Chemical Lime Corp.