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Willow Glen man dies in restraint device after a struggle
Suspect stopped breathing while police used 'wrap' to bind his legs
By Jeff Kearns
A Willow Glen man died Saturday morning while struggling with police inside his apartment on the 2100 block of Canoas Gardens Avenue.
Several officers were trying to restrain 41-year-old truck driver Shaheed Jamal Daniels by using a restraint device called a "wrap" when they noticed that he had no pulse. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death is still under investigation.
San Jose police spokesman Sgt. Steve Dixon said officers were dispatched to a domestic disturbance at the apartment complex just after 9 a.m., when a neighbor called to report a woman screaming for help and a loud argument.
When they arrived, police escorted a woman and two children, ages 12 and 1, from the apartment. The woman, who had bruises on her head, told police that her boyfriend was still inside the apartment and that he was agitated. Police were also told at the scene that Daniels had been drinking alcohol.
Dixon said a police negotiator called on the phone and tried unsuccessfully to get Daniels to come out of the apartment for more than 30 minutes.
Police entered the apartment at about 9:45 a.m. and found the suspect barricaded in a back bathroom. About three officers struggled with Daniels for about a minute and a half, Dixon said, until they were able to handcuff him.
But after he was handcuffed, Daniels continued to struggle and kick violently, and police inside the apartment called in more officers, who brought the wrap device into the house, Dixon said.
One of the officers who came in with the wrap also happened to be the one who was responsible for training the rest of the department in how to use the device after San Jose police first started using wraps about 16 months ago, Dixon said.
Police called in fire department paramedics, who had been standing by outside the apartment. The paramedics couldn't revive Daniels, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the coroner's office, the cause of death will not be officially determined until toxicology reports are available in about six to eight weeks.
Dixon said the wrap, which is designed to be a safe and harmless way to restrain violent suspects, was used correctly during the incident Saturday.
"This almost looks like a textbook case of what you should do," Dixon said. "They waited 30 minutes and didn't go rushing in looking for a fight."
Dixon said police aren't saying what they think might have caused the death. A preliminary coroner's report was not available at press time. The officers involved in struggle sustained bruises in the scuffle, but were not seriously injured.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
