The officer who was trying to arrest accused cop shooter Davon Lymon Wednesday night had one of Lymon’s hands in handcuffs and was trying to shackle him to the stolen motorcycle he was on, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
Officer Daniel Webster never got him in cuffs.
Instead, Lymon pulled out a gun and shot Webster multiple times at close range in a Walgreens parking lot near Central and Eubank before fleeing into a nearby neighborhood, authorities say.
Webster was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after being shot multiple times. University of New Mexico Hospital staff were able to revive him, according to the complaint.
“They are working diligently to save this officer’s life,” Police Chief Gorden Eden said outside the hospital emergency room late Wednesday night. “We are in the best place where an officer can be in this condition.”
A family member told the Journal Webster was shot in the neck and jaw and may suffer neurological damage. He was in critical but stable condition Thursday morning.
Webster is an 8-year veteran with the department, and is a field services officer in the southeast area command, according to the department. He was named uniformed officer of the year in 2013.
“Officer Webster demonstrates exceptional professionalism and high personal ethics,” former interim Chief Allen Banks wrote in a 2013 department memorandum.
After the shooting, more than 100 law enforcement officers from various agencies flooded the area of Eubank and Central searching for Lymon.
Lymon was taken into custody after an hours-long manhunt, officer Tanner Tixier said.
He was taken to the hospital for injuries he received while being arrested, and hadn’t been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center Thursday morning.
Lymon was charged on Thursday with violating federal firearms laws and the United States Attorney’s office said they plan to prosecute him as part of the federal “Worst of the Worst” anti-violence initiative.
Court records show Lymon has a lengthy criminal history.
He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the beating and shooting of a man in 2001 and sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison, and has faced more recent felony charges as well, according to online court records.
Officers are still looking for a woman who was on the motorcycle with the man during the shooting, but police don’t consider her dangerous, Tixier said.
Eden said the department is praying for Webster.
“This is for me a terrible day,” he said. “Our officers go out there and put their lives on the line, they put their lives on the line for our community every single day. They are the guardians for the city of Albuquerque.”
Mayor Richard Berry was with Eden as he spoke to reporters Wednesday.
“We grieve together, we fight crime together, we come together during times of crisis and when things are good,” Berry said. “So let’s as a community hang together during these difficult times. Keep our officer in your thoughts and prayers.”
Copyright 2015 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Tribune News Service
