DA rules fatal police shooting justified
The fatal police shooting of a man who held a 65-year-old woman at knife point in November has been ruled justified, District Attorney Steve Wolfson announced Monday.
Daniel Hathorne took the woman hostage Nov. 2 after being locked out of his apartment complex for failing to pay rent.
The day before the shooting, he had been locked out of his Siegel Suite apartment on Cambridge Street near Twain Avenue, and broke one of the windows to regain entry.
When confronted by the manager the next day, he said, “If you come in again, I’m going to take you hostage. Today’s not the day. I’m going on a killing spree.” The manager immediately called police. Hathorne fled the scene and took the woman hostage.
When police confronted Hathorne, he refused numerous commands to lower the knife and let the woman go. With the large blade pressed against her throat, he proceeded to drag her toward the officer. Two other officers fired a total of seven rounds, killing Hathorne.
The woman, who was taken hostage while on the way to a nearby grocery store, was unharmed, the report said.
“Hathorne attacked an innocent victim on the street, and made it clear to officers that he intended to seriously harm her. When he repeatedly refused to obey the officers’ commands to drop his weapon, the officers took the necessary action to protect the victim and themselves,” Wolfson said.
Hathorne’s life began to deteriorate in recent years according to his longtime girlfriend.
In the District Attorney’s report, she said Hathorne began to use methamphetamine about a year before the shooting. In June 2012, he was arrested for counterfeit money and was supposed to be sentenced in December, the report said.
The day before the shooting, Hathorne was arrested after he fled when officers tried to speak with him about a recent slaying in the area. Officers eventually took him into custody, and after interviewing him, released him.
Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow him on Twitter @clochhead44.
