A man wanted for the attempted murder of a Sioux City police officer has been captured. Sioux City police spokesman Chad Sheehan says 21-year-old Jamal Dean was found Friday night in Texas.
“He was captured by the U.S. Marshals and the police department and the community of Sioux City as well as Mr. Dean’s family can breathe a sign of relief that he is safety in custody,” Sheenan says. “That’s the resolution that we were looking for, that he would be safely taken into custody.”
Dean was wanted in Woodbury County for first degree robbery, burglary and theft when he was pulled over by a Sioux City policeman Monday afternoon. Authorities say Dean got out of the car, pulled a rifle and started shooting at the squad car. Sioux City Police Officer Kevin McCormick ducked down and put his car in reverse, but he was shot in the head. McCormick has been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Officer Sheehan says the support from the community “has been tremendous.”
“For all the people who called in with information and tips: each and every one of your calls were followed up on and the police department along with the assistance of all the other agencies that helped us — both local, county, state, federal — we followed up on all of those tips and we just can’t thank the public enough,” Sheehan says. “We cannot do the job of policing the community by ourselves. We need the assistance of the public.”
Earlier this week Dean’s family apologized to the officer who was shot and pleaded with Dean to “do the right thing” and turn himself in to police. Dean was captured during a traffic stop Friday night in Texas, heading south, about 100 miles from the Mexican border.
(Reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)