Officer down: What we know about the shooting of a Jacksonville policeman
Two Jacksonville police officers have been shot in the line of duty in just over two months, one grazed in the face at close range and Sunday another with an assault-style rifle in critical condition.
The first was among a team of officers who tracked down a burglary suspect sleeping in his car on Hardee Street on Jan. 20. They tried to talk with him and asked multiple times to show them his hands and get out of the car. He refused and instead fired a shot that could have killed the unidentified officer. All five officers returned fire killing 39-year-old Leon Bernard Burroughs, the Sheriff's Office said.
Sunday's scenario was a follow-up to a traffic stop where the driver sped away rather than have his car searched. When officers arrived at his home in the early morning, even asking his mother to meet them there to assist, Tyliko Getz Maduro opened fire striking Officer Malik Daricaud. The 32-year-old would later kill himself during a SWAT standoff, the Sheriff's Office said.
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Sheriff T.K. Waters said it is very rare and disturbing to have two officers shot in such a short time frame.
"What I think is there is an environment that exists today that encourages people to fight the police," he said during Sunday's briefing. "And that should not be the case. I see this happening more and more around the country and it's happening here."
Here are some questions and answers in the latest case:
What happened during the initial traffic stop?
It stemmed from an 11:15 p.m. traffic stop on March 19 where someone in a yellow Chevrolet Camaro ran a red light at 103rd Street and Interstate 295. The driver, identified as Maduro, provided his driver's license and said he understood he ran the red light, the sheriff said.
The officer asked some questions, including whether he could search his car to make sure there were no narcotics or firearms. The officer said he couldn't hear him well wearing a mask and asked if he could step out. But he eventually took off. Waters said the officers — and he clarified that Daricaud was not involved in the traffic stop — did not give chase because it was just a traffic violation at that point.
Instead, they had his driver's license so knew his name and decided to follow up later when they returned from their days off.
What is the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office looking for during these traffic stops?
"Our responsibility is to be proactive and try to stop things from happening," Waters said.
"We're looking for people that are carrying guns," he said. "You know fentanyl, it's an issue, it's killing a lot of people in our community. So that's all the kinds of things we're looking for when we do these traffic stops."
What happened at Tyliko Maduro's home?
The incident report said officers went to Maduro's Ridgeview Avenue home near Firestone Road about 2:45 a.m. Waters said they knocked and got no response although they heard a female. They decided to contact Maduro's mother and were able to get her to the scene to try to help about 4:30 a.m., the sheriff said.
The mother knocked and called out to her son a couple of times, but there was still no response, which police body camera video showed. The officers were wearing police clothing and shining flashlights while standing behind and to the side of her. Waters said they didn't have their guns drawn other than one who had his Taser out. The mother unlocked the door, and a large dog came out wagging its tail. As she began to handle the dog, three shots were fired from inside and she yelled for her son to stop.
Daricaud fell on his back, not moving as his body camera showed nothing by the night sky. The incident report said the mother retreated and the other woman inside, later identified as Maduro's fiancee, was able to get out. Waters said officers did not shoot back but called in SWAT, and by 7 a.m. Maduro had killed himself.
Waters showed a closeup image of Maduro waiting for them with a rifle pointed from behind a couch or chair.
Why did the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office decide to do this so early in the morning?
"There's no reason to wait," Waters said. "I think the best time that you knock on someone's door is as early as possible, as soon as you get to work or if you're getting ready to leave... I believe all they were going to do is ask him questions, talk to him."
Is it normal to have a suspect's mother come to his home during an investigation?
"I wouldn't say it's protocol," the sheriff said. "... They weren't going to kick his door open. They didn't have probable cause to do that. So the best way to try to get there and to get to him and to speak to him would be his mother, they felt like at that point. I think in my mind you don't think that someone's going to open fire if his mother's at the front door."
What did Tyliko Maduro's fiancee say?
She told investigators in the report that she woke up to the gunfire. She advised one rifle was in the home and that only Maduro was there. The report makes no reference to children, but the fiancee's Facebook indicates they do have children.
On Tuesday she posted, "I just want my baby back n for the world to know he wasn't who they say he was."
The Times-Union is not naming her or the mother for their privacy and safety. The 33-year-old said she is still processing what happened and doesn't know why he armed himself.
"When he realized he shot a cop, he just kept saying 'sorry,'" she told Times-Union news partner First Coast News. "It was just very chaotic with his mom on the phone and all the officers and everything."
She believes if he had known police were at their home, he wouldn't have fired a weapon. She also said he wouldn't have put his mother in danger.
"It's not because he's a dangerous person, he just wants to protect his family," she said.
"It's just terrible. I'm very sorry," she told the news station.
What did Tyliko Maduro's mother say?
The 54-year-old told First Coast News the Sheriff's Officers called her about 4 a.m. asking her assistance in speaking with her son about a traffic stop he fled from a week prior. She said police were going to get a warrant if she didn't show up. She recalled getting a similar phone call the day after Maduro fled the traffic stop.
She believes her son feared for his life. She said that is why he fled the traffic stop. Although Maduro was armed when she opened the door, she does not believe he planned to shoot anyone. She said her son reacted to an unexpected entry.
"As we are enduring during this time of our personal grieving over the loss of my son, I would like the family of Officer Malik Daricaud to know that we do not condone violence and that we are deeply sorry about the turn of events that occurred," she wrote in a statement provided to the news station. "Our prayers are with you during this time. We pray for the complete healing of Officer Daricaud and we will continue to pray for God's comfort and peace for the family."
Who is Tyliko Maduro?
Even the sheriff said they really didn't find anything serious about Maduro's past.
Court records show the 32-year-old pleaded guilty to some minor drug charges in 2011 as his most recent trouble with the law.
"It's hard to explain what's in someone's mind when they do something like that," Waters said.
Florida Divison of Corporations records show he was the registered agent for TM Demo and Repair at one of his previous Jacksonville home addresses in 2021, but the listing was inactive. His fiancee's Facebook shows several happy photos with two daughters and says they've been engaged since 2010.
How is Officer Malik Daricaud?
On Thursday the Sheriff's Office said Daricaud, 25, "has shown small improvements daily and he continues on what appears to be a long road to recovery. As he and his family continue in this process, their family life has been upended and every day brings new and greater adversities."
During the sheriff's briefing Sunday, he said doctors referred to his situation as "tenuous."
"I don't know if his career is ever going to be the same, if there will be a career from here on," Waters said. "We can only pray there will be."
Jacksonville's fraternal order of police also said his family verified a GoFundMe to help with expenses. It says he started his law enforcement career as a Police Explorer for the North Miami Beach Police Department at the age of 15. He then joined the Navy and later the U.S. Air Force. He was sworn in as an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in 2021. He is married with a 4-year-old son.
What does Officer Daricaud's wife say?
Jasmine Faison told First Coast News her husband will regain his mobility, but they're not sure when that will happen. She said he is sleeping a lot because of all the medications he’s on, but he’s in the hospital and will be going to rehab next.
There’s no timeline for his recovery because his injuries are very severe, she explained.
“I am grateful because if he was shot somewhere else, we’d be looking at a funeral instead of rehab, so maybe I’ll be angry later, but as of now, I just feel incredibly grateful and blessed that he is still here, and I can deal with the rehab, and I can deal with months of recovery, but I don’t think I’d be able to take a funeral,” Faison told the station.
She said they also are extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support they've received from the community.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville sheriff's officer remains critical after being shot
