The suspect in last week’s shooting of a Sioux City police officer is jailed in Texas. Sioux City Police Chief Doug Young says 21-year-old Jamal Dean was likely trying to make it to Mexico when he was stopped by federal marshals in Texas about 100 miles from the border late Friday night.
“Heading southbound on Highway 77 from Rivera, Texas,” Chief Young says. “We believe he was heading towards Brownsville and the Mexican border.” Young says Dean was taken into custody without incident after authorities received information that Dean was in a tan Dodge Durango in Texas.
He was traveling with another couple, Esteban Hernandez Junior and Evette Morris-Hernandez of Sioux City, and four children. Young says it’s not yet clear if that couple will also face charges. “Now that he’s been captured, the investigation is not over,” Young says. “It will continue and I can assure you anybody that was caught aiding and abetting him and his escapes from Sioux City and possibly this country, it’s our hopes they’ll be prosecuted also.”
Dean is being held in the Kleberg County jail in Texas on a charge of attempted murder pending extradition to Iowa. The Sioux City police officer who was shot last Monday during the traffic stop says he’s grateful for the support he and his family have received.
Officer Kevin McCormick says he has heard from countless people and fellow officers from around the country as he recovers at home.
“The department and friends and family and community members and just random strangers from all over the country,” McCormick says. “I received more text messages and emails and phone calls and personal contacts than I could ever dream and it really tugs at my heart strings.”
McCormick has had the stitches removed from his forehead and is on the way to what should be a full recovery. “These last few mornings, I’ve woken up with little if any pain at all,” he says. “No headaches, just localized pain. I’m so extremely grateful, having experienced this, that I’m able to sit here and talk with you guys about this.”
McCormick has been on the force just 15 months. He says he’s anxious to get back on the streets. “I’ve only been at this for a short period of time and maybe it’s the rookie talking, but I love this job,” he says.
“I love coming in and doing what I do every day. I love the group of guys and gals I run with. I have a great deal of pride in working for the Sioux City Police Department.” He expects to be back on duty within a couple of weeks. McCormick is married with a one-year-old daughter.
His father, Mike, is a police sergeant with 39 years on the force.
By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City