UPDATE: Roommate Of Man That Killed Austin Officer Speaks Out - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

UPDATE: Roommate Of Man That Killed Austin Officer Speaks Out

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AUSTIN (KXAN) - The roommate of Brandon Daniel, the man arrested for the deadly shooting of an Austin Police Officer speaks out.

Dante Davis said, he met Daniels on Craigslist.

Just before Friday's shooting Davis said, he remembers Daniel making a weird joke.

"He said dude, how cool would it be to rob a store and you know I joked around with him. But I kind of joked it off like there is no way this guy would do that," said Davis.

The Austin Police Department is mourning the loss of fellow officer Jamie Padron. In a press conference Police Chief Art Acevedo said, " there isn't anger in our department. There is a lot of tears flowing, there's a lot of hurt but that unselfish act, that selfless act, is the beginning of the healing process for this department."

A 24-year-old man was charged with capital murder Friday in the shooting death of an Austin police officer at a Walmart off Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane.

Brandon Montgomery Daniel was formally booked into the jail after 8:30 a.m. and no bail had been set by about 1:10 p.m.

Daniel is accused of killing Senior Officer Jaime Padron, a three-year veteran of the Austin police department. Padron shot in the neck while responding to a call of an intoxicated man inside a North Austin Walmart.

The man suspected of firing the fatal shot was in custody after store employees helped disarm him.

According to jail records, Daniel was arrested in February on a driving while intoxicated charge. He was due to appear in court on Thursday.

Padron came to Austin after 14 years with the San Angelo Police Department. Officer Down. A web page to that honors law enforcement officers killed while doing their duty was set up a memorial page for him just hours after the shooting.

The incident on the eve of a holiday weekend jarred the police department.

"It's a tragedy on Good Friday to lose an officer like this, but it's part of what these men and women do," said Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, told reporters at 6 a.m. "They know when they become police officers that this is ultimately the sacrifice they are willing to make."


How to help

The non-profit 100 Club of Central Texas has set up fund to assist Officer Padron's family


Acevedo said he spoke with the slain officer's family around 5 a.m.

The officer had been on the force  for more than three years, he was a father of two young daughters, ages 10 and 6. He leaves behind an ex-wife who lives in the area, parents and family in San Angelo.

Public Information Officer Anthony Hipolito said they got a 911 call at 2:20 a.m. of an intoxicated person wandering around the store. The officer who was killed was the first to arrive at the scene eight minutes after being dispatched to Walmart.


Timeline of events

  • 2:20 a.m.: Walmart employee reports that a man who was intoxicated is wandering around the store
  • 2:21 a.m.: Officers are dispatched
  • 2:29 a.m.: First officer arrives
  • 2:44 a.m.: Officer is pronounced dead

When he went inside, the officer made contact with the man, who immediately began fighting with the officer.

During the fight, the man pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and shot the officer at point blank in the neck area, according to Acevedo.

The officer was able to radio for help, saying he had been shot. Another officer arrived and took the suspect into custody after Walmart employees were able to take him down and disarm him.

The backup officer began administering CPR to the fallen officer.

"Despite the valiant efforts of our officer who started CPR, and EMS, the officer succumb to his injury and was pronounced at the scene at 2:44 a.m.," Acevedo said.

Acevedo spoke with the family of the officer around 5:30 a.m.

Before serving on the force, he worked for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport police as part of the emergency management department that consolidated with APD in 2009. Before that, he was on the San Angelo Police Department.

At the Walmart, onlookers witnessed the poignant scene of dozens of the fallen officer's colleagues dressed in blue lined up on both sides of a police vehicle and ambulance in front of the store, standing in salute when the officer's body was loaded into the vehicle and taken away

"We want to put the community at ease that there is a suspect in custody and not someone running around on the loose," said Hipolito.

Familiar with the strong ties of a tight-knit police family, Travis County sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene around 5:30 a.m. to offer their condolences to the department.

There were dozens of police at the store at 12900 North Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane early Friday morning.

The entire parking lot is off limits, as police have that and all entrances blocked off. No one can get into the Walmart, and a lot of people have not even been able to leave the store.

Acevedo said they are making sure to gather everything at the scene.

Witnesses said they were in the back of the store when they heard a loud boom and thought it was a 2X4 hitting the floor. That's when a Walmart employee came running up screaming about a shooting.

The witnesses said they ran to the front of the store and saw someone on the floor receiving CPR, though they didn't know it was an Austin police officer at the time. Officers had already responded by that time, and people had begun to gather at the front of the store by the McDonald's at the entrance.

"I personally want to thank some of the employees at Walmart," said Acevedo. "Even in this tragedy, I'm heartened by the fact that two brave souls immediately started taking action and actually tackled the suspect to the ground before he was able to hurt anyone else."

The Walmart and its parking lot will remain closed while the police investigation continues. Nearby businesses

will be allowed to open, police said.

The deadly shooting early Friday morning came seven hours after another officer-involved shooting in East Austin  that ended in the death of a suspect and the officer involved hospitalized with injuries.

"I absolutely, I don't believe for a minute this has anything to do with the officer-involved shooting last night," said the chief.

Acevedo said that officer came very close to losing his life and that he is thankful we are not talking about two dead officers Friday morning.

"Imagine two officer-involved shootings in one night," said Acevedo. "Our city is changing, and we just have to understand that we have to be cautious, and we have to be aware that as we continue to grow we are going to have challenges."

It has been eight years since an Austin police office died in the line of duty. Amy Donovan was killed in 2004 after being hit by a patrol car driven by her partner.

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