Father of man shot by Denton police says officers didn’t try to de-escalate incident
The father of a University of North Texas student who was shot to death by a Denton police officer said Tuesday that officers never tried to de-escalate the incident.
Kevin Tarver, a chaplain with the McKinney Police Department, commented on the fatal January shooting after he was recently allowed to view body camera video.
In the video, “my son is crying out, ‘My heavenly father’,” Kevin Tarver said at a news conference at The Sanctuary in McKinney on Tuesday. “I did not see my son attacking anyone.”
Lee Merritt of Dallas, the Tarver family’s attorney, said Kevin’s son Darius Tarver was in a medical crisis at the time he was shot and killed in Denton.
“He didn’t need men with guns at that time,” said Merritt, who was at the Tuesday news conference with several members of Darius Tarver’s family and supporters.
Merritt and the Tarver family asked for a thorough investigation and possible charges against officers.
“If they were poorly trained, remove them,” Merritt said, referring to the officers.
The attorney said the dash cam and body cam videos should be released to the public at some point.
The Denton Police Department released the following statement Tuesday: “The death of Darius ‘DJ’ Tarver, who was shot and killed by a Denton Police officer on Jan. 21, is currently under criminal investigation by the Texas Rangers, with a concurrent administrative investigation being conducted by the Denton Police Department Internal Affairs. The investigation by the Texas Rangers will evaluate whether any criminal violations of law occurred. The Internal Affairs investigation will determine whether use of force was appropriate. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the Rangers will present their findings to a Denton County Grand Jury. Until that process is concluded, the City of Denton or Denton Police Department cannot comment to ensure the integrity of the investigation and the process.”
“The death of Darius is tragic for all involved, including our community at large,” the statement concluded. “Our collective hearts go out to the Tarver family, as well as friends and students at the University of North Texas.”
The investigation by the Texas Rangers continued on Tuesday, and no additional information was available to be released, said Lt. Lonny Haschel with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Darius Tarver, 23, was a UNT senior. He worked two jobs and was to graduate in May with a degree in criminal justice, his father has said.
Kevin Tarver said his son was on the dean’s list, had numerous friends, and a scholarship has been named in his honor.
“He was never a threat,” his father said. “Only by appearance.”
‘He was in a mental health crisis’
Denton police previously have said Darius Tarver charged at officers while holding a frying pan, a cleaver and “possibly a knife.” Police said officers tried twice to stun him with a Taser, but when the Taser was ineffective, an officer shot him.
Denton police said Darius Tarver stabbed an officer in the shoulder during the encounter. The injured officer was released from a hospital after treatment.
The incident occurred early on the morning of Jan. 21 at the apartment complex where Tarver lived at 201 Inman St. He died of gunshot wounds to the chest, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Darius Tarver’s roommates have said that his behavior had become erratic after he was in a car accident in the week before the shooting.
Merritt said on Tuesday that Darius Tarver was still suffering from a traumatic head injury when he was shot.
“He had become sensitive to light and sound. He had barricaded himself in his room,” Merritt said. “He was in a mental health crisis.”
Early on the morning he was killed, one of his roommates woke and saw that Darius Tarver, who they called D.J., had barricaded a hallway in their apartment with furniture. He also had covered up windows with blankets and clothes, and unplugged light fixtures because he said he did not want there to be any light. Then he went outside the apartment and banged on doors and broke hallway lights, according to the roommates.
Kenton Nelson, 48, told the Star-Telegram he had shared an apartment with the younger man for about a year.
Nelson learned through a friend that Darius Tarver had been in a bad wreck. He was away from the apartment for days, but when he came back one day, “he was very distant and just didn’t want to talk,” Nelson told the Star-Telegram on Jan. 21. “I was like, ‘Are you all right?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, man, just nobody cares about me.’”
Five officers were dispatched about 3 a.m. Jan. 21 to the Forum at Denton Station apartments, which serve as off-campus housing for college students, after police received multiple 911 calls. The callers had reported a man was banging on apartment doors and asking people to open them, and shattering all the light fixtures in a hallway with a frying pan, according to police.
When officers arrived, some stood at the base of a main staircase while another obtained information from a caller, police said.
Tarver began moving down the stairs toward the officers, according to police. Officers saw he had a meat cleaver, a frying pan, and possibly a knife in his hands, and they gave him loud instructions to drop the weapons, police said. Officers tried to talk with Tarver but described him as incoherent, police said.
Tarver continued advancing toward officers, police said, and an officer deployed his Taser. The Taser struck Tarver, causing him to fall, but he got back up, police said.
Officers tried a second time to stun him with a Taser, Denton Police Chief Frank Dixon said at a news conference on Jan. 21. At that point, Tarver charged at officers, he said.
One officer then fired his gun multiple times and Tarver fell to the ground, police said. Officers began performing first aid and called for Denton Fire/Rescue to respond.
At that time, police said, they learned one officer had been stabbed during the struggle.
Tarver and the officer were both taken to a hospital, where Tarver was pronounced dead.
‘A tragedy for law enforcement’
At the Jan. 21 news conference, Dixon said officers followed their training and tried to de-escalate the situation.
“I want to stress to you that officers every day come to work in this profession hoping to get home, but more importantly hoping that everybody they interact with get home as well, and I think that played out in this occasion,” Dixon said at the news conference.
The officer who shot Tarver is a six-year veteran of the department, and the officer who was injured is new to Denton but has more than 10 years of previous law enforcement experience, police said. Their names haven’t been released.
The officer who shot Tarver was placed on administrative duty, which is standard practice, police said.
Dixon also has said authorities would investigate whether Tarver was having a mental health crisis.
“This isn’t just a tragedy for law enforcement. It’s also a tragedy for the young man that is no longer with us,” Dixon said at the Jan. 21 news conference. “Any time that a life is taken, no matter the circumstance, is tragic, and we don’t want it to happen.”
Kevin Tarver said he believes the police officers’ training “went out the window.”
“He (Darius Tarver) wasn’t being violent.,” Kevin Tarver said. “It has pained me so much.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 12:56 PM.
