DENTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — The Denton Police Department has released video footage from the night a police officer fatally shot a UNT student.
At a news conference Thursday, the department released the footage of their interaction with 23-year-old Darius Tarver at The Forum at Denton Station earlier this year.
Around 3 a.m. Jan. 21, Tarver was shot by a DPD officer after residents reported that a man was banging on doors and yelling for someone to let him in. Residents also reported that Tarver was shattering light fixtures with a frying pan in the breezeway.
According to police, the UNT student got into a confrontation with arriving officers while wielding a cleaver and a frying pan. Police said he ignored commands to drop the items and started advancing towards officers.
Denton Police Chief Frank Dixon said officers used a taser on him but he was able to get back up and then “charged full-on” — stabbing an officer in the shoulder. An officer then fired his weapon multiple times at Tarver — striking him at least once. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
The officer who was stabbed was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.