A man who allegedly pulled his children in front of him while police had their guns drawn is facing child endangerment charge. Daren Scott McDonald, 30, was charged with the felony count after the situation Wednesday in east Austin.
Officers responded to a report of shots fired at 1601 Montopolis Drive around 10 p.m.
“The caller stated that it sounded like someone shot at her door and that her brother in law had been banging on her door and believed he had a gun,” the affidavit stated. When officers arrived, the woman told them she was afraid her sister would be hurt, and pointed them to another apartment in the complex. According to the affidavit, when officers responded they could hear a woman and children’s voices, along with a man identified as McDonald yelling for her to not answer the door.
McDonald told police he would talk to them on the apartment’s back patio, and when they walked over he allegedly started cursing at them and taking off his clothes. An officer had his gun pointed at McDonald, according to the affidavit, and then McDonald pulled his son in front of him.
“[Daren McDonald] yelled ‘my kids right here, my kids right here’ the kid was visibly upset and appeared to be crying,” the affidavit stated. “As we instructed Daren to keep Juvenile victim 1 out of it, he started to close the door while still holding onto Juvenile victim 1’s arm.”
The officers kept their guns drawn but lowered, the affidavit stated, and McDonald pulled two of his other children in front of him after coming outside again.
“At any point if we were forced to use deadly force or even the tazer (sic) Juvenile victim 1 could have been hit with a prong or hit with ricohet from one of our bullets,” the affidavit said. “[McDonald] showed no care about his actions regarding his children and the danger he placed them in.”
The officers entered the house and arrested McDonald after a struggle. At one point after he was handcuffed, he laid on the ground and had to be carried to the patrol car, the affidavit said.
McDonald is in custody in Travis County, according to jail records. His bail is set at $15,000 and he is prohibited from committing family violence or communicating with his family.
(Story from KXAN.com)
