JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's been a year and a month since Jacksonville sheriff's officer Malik Daricaud nearly died after being shot at close range. He's undergone intensive therapy and Friday received a hero's return home as he was discharged from Brooks Rehabilitation.
Hospital staff and officers lined the walls of the lobby area and roadway outside Brooks as the 26-year-old Navy veteran was escorted out with his wife and son using a walker and flashing a big smile. From there he traded the walker for his wheelchair and accepted all the applause and surrounding support before heading home with his family.
"I didn't think I would get this far, but just waking up, and people's smiles and jokes, all the stuff to keep me going really means a lot to me," Daricaud said to the staff.
Sheriff T.K. Waters also became emotional addressing his officer and the Brooks team.
"From the night this happened, I didn't know what was going to happen," Waters said, having to compose himself. "To see where you are right now is an amazing blessing. It's nothing short of the miracle that you guys have done."
He also received inspirational cheers during this past River Run when he completed the Brooks Challenge Mile. Although he uses a wheelchair, he had his son, wife and Brooks therapists by his side as he crossed the finish line standing tall with the help of his walker.
"Though his fight is not over, the men and woman at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office are incredibly proud to hear that Malik is being discharged from Brooks Rehabilitation and heading home," the Sheriff's Office said. "This remarkable achievement is a testament to his unwavering strength and determination — and the treatment he has received while in the care of the remarkable individuals at Brooks Rehabilitation."
There's also a GoFundMe set up to help with the young father's medical costs.
What happened to Officer Malik Daricaud?
On March 26 of last year, Daricaud was assisting fellow officers in attempting to question a suspect at his home early that morning. They knocked on his door and got no response, but they heard a woman's voice, the Sheriff's Office previously said. They contacted his mother to come to the scene to assist them. He still didn't respond, so she unlocked the door and he was waiting for them behind a couch with a rifle and opened fire.
One of the bullets hit the flashlight that Daricaud was holding, and shrapnel ricocheted into his neck and shoulders, causing severe damage to his spinal cord, the Sheriff's Office said.
Officers did not shoot back but called in SWAT. The suspect, 32-year-old Tyliko Getz Maduro, would later shoot and kill himself.
Third Jacksonville officer shot last year
Daricaud wasn't the only Jacksonville Sheriff's Office shot last year. Two others also survived gunshots at close range.
On April 18, an off-duty officer working at Baptist Medical Center South noticed a suspicious vehicle circling the parking lot. The officer attempted to stop the car, but the driver began to flee. Other officers responded and one who was on foot raised a hand in front of him ordering him to stop the car several times. The man rolled the window down slightly, held out a gun and said, “Shoot me.”
He then pulled up next to another officer and fired one shot into the patrol car. No officers had fired at this point due to safety concerns for people in the parking lot. Other officers tried to forcibly stop him, but he instead rammed two patrol cars before crashing. Officers gave repeated commands for him to get out of the car. He then shot one of them in face as the officer tried to open one of his car doors. Five officers returned fire, killing 38-year-old Jeffrey Alan Martin of Jacksonville. The officer, Taylor Smith, was hospitalized in critical condition.
Sheriff's Office spokesman on Thursday said Smith also has recovered from the injuries and has returned to active duty in the Patrol Division.
On Jan. 20, officers were following up a burglary to a residence on West Second Street and were given a description of a man leaving on a bicycle. They also were informed the victim’s smartwatch was stolen and that person was able to track the GPS to nearby Hardee Street. About an hour later officers saw the bicycle matching the description and learned from a family member that the suspect — 39-year-old Leon Bernard Burroughs — owned it and was living in his car.
They located the vehicle, and the five officers noticed a handgun on top of the car and moved it and also noticed a man sleeping in the back. They opened the door and tried to talk with him and asked him multiple times to show them his hands and also to get out of the car. He refused and told them to get the light out of his face so he could see. And for an unknown reason he fired a shot grazing an unidentified officer in the face, and all five opened fire on him killing him.