Bobby Daniels (left) and his son Bias.
A CNN security guard and retired service man, has been shot dead by Georgia deputies according to The Washington Post. Bobby Daniels was trying to stop his emotionally-distressed son, who was waving a gun around, when he was shot by Douglas County sheriff’s deputies.
The Post’s database, which tracks police shootings, says Daniels is the 246th Black person killed by law enforcement this year. According to The Post, about a quarter of the people shot by police suffered from mental illness.
Daniels was called home by family members to respond to his son Bias, who was having an emotional breakdown. Family members said Bobby Daniels managed to persuade his son to put the gun on the hood of a car, but moments later he was shot by a deputy. Family members and the police offer conflicting views on the shooting.
“Bobby came for the purpose of calming his son down, he arrived before even the police,” said Chris Stewart, an attorney representing the Daniels family. “His son pointed the weapon at Bobby, and forced him to sit back into the car, and that’s when the police arrived with their weapons drawn.”
The police tried to subdue Bias by using a stun gun, which was ineffective because he was wearing a heavy coat. Stewart said Bias continued to reach for the gun, and his father tried to intervene when he was shot dead. Police claim Bobby Daniels pointed the gun at them.
“I think that he could have been trying to help the situation instead of hurting it, but when he pointed the gun at the officers, he was shot,” Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller told reporters at the scene of the shooting. “There’s no doubt in my mind that my officer thought his life was in danger, and he did what he thought he had to do.”
That comment outraged the Daniels family. They said Bobby Daniels, a Navy veteran who also worked as a security guard for CNN and another Turner building, was an avid defender of law enforcement.
“My husband would never ever take a gun and point it at an officer,” said his wife Cynthia during a press conference. “He would never do that.”
Stewart said the police were not telling the truth and trying to cover up the fact they shot a law-abiding citizen, who was trying to help.
“We want them to acknowledge the truth, Stewart said. “Mistakes happen. They shot Bobby, and he shouldn’t have been shot. Acknowledge that. But don’t tell this family who is grieving that this man picked up a gun and pointed it at the officers. It’s just disrespectful.”
“Bobby Daniels is a veteran of the U.S. military. He’s actually a current security guard, a father of five, married, a great man, and the last person on this planet that would ever point a gun at an officer,” Stewart said, according to FOX10.
Bias Daniels was later arrested and charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping and obstruction.
