Sandy MaloneWinter Park, FL – Police have released bodycam videos from the incident that led to the fatal shooting of a 39-year-old Daniel Knight at his niece’s Winter Park wedding in February (videos below).
The incident occurred on the evening of Feb. 19 during a wedding held at the Winter Park Events Center on Morse Boulevard, according to WESH.
Winter Park police responded to the venue for a call about a wedding guest who was trying to fight the other guests.
Witnesses said that 39-year-old Daniel Patrick Knight, the uncle of the bride, had assaulted multiple people before police arrived on the scene, WFLA reported.
Police released 911 calls that showed the caller told dispatchers that the man was “grabbing people by the neck” and “shoving people to the floor,” WFTV reported.
“He’s grabbing an older woman and shoving her,” the caller said.
She described Knight as “violent” and “very drunk,” according to WFTV.
Knight’s family has denied that he was behaving in a violent or belligerent manner at the wedding reception, but bodycam videos released by the Winter Park Police Department on March 30 told a different story.
Yelling and arguing cam be heard as officers approached the outside of the wedding venue.
“He’s OK, he’s our brother, he’s our brother,” several girls in floor length dresses told the approaching officers in the video.
An officer told Knight to put his hands behind his back, and instructed the women to step away from him.
Bodycam video showed a few of the women were moved away but that one of the women held onto Knight as officers moved in.
“Get away from him,” an officer ordered her.
“He wasn’t hurting anybody and he doesn’t have any weapons,” the woman told an officer off camera. “Stop it!”
Family members could be heard in the video telling police that Knight suffered from PTSD, WFTV reported.
Video showed Knight held onto the woman in front of him like a shield while reaching out occasionally to swat at officers who were trying to take him into custody.
When officers moved closer to try and detain Knight, he punched one of them in the face and knocked the officer unconscious.
“Our officer was unconscious and incapacitated,” a Winter Park police spokesperson told reporters during a press briefing at the scene after the incident.
Bodycam video showed the officer who was knocked lay on his back while the camera continued recording.
He was dizzy and disoriented afterwards but the video showed he didn’t want to leave the scene to go to the hospital because he feared for the safety of his fellow officers as the crowd became uncontrollable.
Bodycam video showed officers deployed Tasers at Knight but they proved ineffective, WFTV reported.
Knight attacked another Winter Park police officer and knocked him to the ground, the video showed.
When he started to attack police again, the officer who had been knocked to the ground drew his weapon and fired seven shots at Knight.
Knight later died at a nearby hospital.
Both of the officers Knight attacked were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening wounds and treated.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is investigating the incident and the officer who shot Knight has been placed on paid administrative leave while it is completed, as is protocol for all officer-involved shootings.
Watch the incident unfold in the videos below. WARNING – Graphic Content and Obscene Language:
Holly Matkin
