UPDATE: The name of the injured police officer was released Thursday. Officer Jose Sioson has been released from the hospital.
EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV)--The man charged with attempted murder and mayhem on an El Cajon Police officer refused to appear in court Wednesday for his arraignment while the officer recovered at a local hospital.
Daniel Moses Cook, 42, is accused of viciously beating an El Cajon police officer Monday morning in the KFC on Fletcher Parkway when the officer responded to a call about an aggressive man who was shoplifting from the Dollar Tree.
A police source told 10News the officer, who has not yet been identified, is a 28-year veteran of the force. He suffered broken bones in his face and has had two surgeries.
According to the California Department of Corrections, Cook recently was recently released from prison after serving nearly nine months for resisting a police officer with threats or violence. He began probation for this conviction on June 23.
Prison records show he has served two other stints in state prison. One in 2001 for assault with a deadly weapon and making a terrorist threat, and another in 2014 for domestic violence.
Police said the officer responded to the KFC after 911 calls that an aggressive man stole from the Dollar Tree and then went to KFC and was stealing soda from the soda fountain.
When the officer went to talk to the man sitting in the KFC, he punched the officer and knocked him out, then kept punching the unconscious officer while he was on the floor.
The suspect walked out of the KFC, and other officers used a Taser to subdue and arrest him in the center median of Fletcher Pkwy.
An MTS employee eating inside the KFC used the officer’s radio to call dispatch for help, which saved time in getting the officer medical attention.
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Cook faces a list of charges, including attempted first-degree murder, mayhem, and possession of methamphetamine.
