BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A 31-year-old man is dead after a deputy-involved shooting on the far West Side that started as a mental health-type call, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
According to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office, Damian Lamar Daniels was shot and killed Tuesday evening.
Deputies were dispatched to the 11000 block of Liberty Field after family members called to report that Daniels, a combat veteran, was mentally unstable and suicidal after the loss of loved ones. Salazar said he was reportedly also seeing things and hearing voices.
Salazar said deputies had been called several times to the home over the last few days. He said they finally made contact with Daniels on Tuesday and tried to de-escalate the situation for about 30 minutes since they knew he had a weapon.
At one point, a deputy tried to bond with Daniels in an attempt to calm him down, Salazar said. It became apparent that he did not want to follow deputies to get help, and he got aggressive, the sheriff said.
Salazar said a deputy attempted to subdue Daniels with a stun gun, but it did not stop him. He then grabbed the deputy’s stun gun, and another deputy used their stun gun on him to try to get him to let go of it, the sheriff said.
Salazar said Daniels then reached for a weapon he had in a holster around his waistband. Deputies told him to let go of the gun.
Salazar said a deputy then shot Daniels twice in the upper torso when he did not listen to their commands.
The two veteran deputies and a trainee deputy will be placed on administrative leave and then administrative duty as the investigations continue. The sheriff said BCSO will be making two separate, concurrent investigations.