Jury hears evidence in slaying of suspect who stabbed officer

Karen Zekan

Friday, March 12, 1999 | 11:18 a.m.

A jury was expected to begin hearing evidence today as part of a coroner's inquest into the death of a 21-year-old man accused of repeatedly stabbing a Henderson Police officer before being fatally shot.

The randomly selected seven-member panel will determine whether Officer Brian Flatt was justified in using deadly force against the late J.C. Daniels, a Henderson resident.

Proceedings were scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in District Court, Department 5, and expected to last the entire day.

Flatt fired multiple rounds at Daniels on Feb. 11 at about 4:15 p.m., when the two encountered one another at the bottom of a flight of stairs in the Oasis Greens apartment complex, 2001 Ramrod Ave., off Mountain Vista Street north of Sunset Road.

Daniels' ex-girlfriend had called police for help, saying that Daniels earlier that day had kidnapped and beaten her.

Flatt and another officer arrived at the complex and split up to check different apartments when Flatt ran into Daniels. The officer asked for the man's identification and instead the man pulled out a pocket knife and attacked, police said.

Witnesses said Flatt was stabbed several times and was trying to back away when he pulled his weapon and fired. Daniels died instantly.

Police later found at the top of the stairs, near the ex-girlfriend's door, a machete and a baseball bat.

Coroner's inquests serve as the customary conclusion to cases in which an officer's use of force results in death.