Suspect threatened officers with gun

Police sergeant fired weapon in response, injured fellow officer.

By David Leone

WAKEFIELD — The Raleigh Police Department has released a preliminary report of the May 29 domestic incident that led to a sergeant shooting and wounding a fellow officer.
Additional charges have also been filed against the suspect charged in the incident.
According to the report released by Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown, when officers tried to speak to the suspect at his Wakefield apartment, he stuck his gun out the door and waved it around at them.
One responding officer, Sgt. J.D. Malzahn, fired two shots in response. One struck a fire extinguisher and the other hit Officer K.J. Barefoot in the hip.
Barefoot was not seriously injured.
The suspect, Joshua Daniel Timberlake, 28, 11410 Colbert Creek Loop, Apt. 102, was arrested the next day for assault on a female.
The officers were responding to a neighbor’s complaint at the Meridian at Wakefield apartments about Timberlake, who earlier that night had allegedly been seen ranting and cursing and waving a gun outside the building in the presence of Timberlake’s girlfriend.

The rundown
At approximately 2 a.m., Officers A.L. Clark and Barefoot were dispatched to the residence. Malzahn also responded to assist with the call.
After speaking with the complainant, the officers approached Timberlake’s door, located near the middle of a long, narrow, well-lit breezeway on the first floor of the apartment building. Malzahn and Barefoot were on the right of Timberlake’s door with Clark to the left.
After knocking a few times, Clark left the breezeway to go to the back of the building to determine if he could see any movement in the apartment and Barefoot crossed over to the left side of the door. The two remaining officers continued knocking on the door.
According to the report, what happened next was, “The door flew open suddenly, and Timberlake stuck his arm out of his apartment and into the breezeway, holding a handgun and sweeping it back and forth from one side of the door to the other.
“Sgt. Malzahn and Officer Barefoot quickly backed away from the door in opposite directions as they identified themselves as police and gave orders to drop the weapon. During this time, Mr. Timberlake continued to sweep the gun back and forth across the breezeway, pointing it directly at Sgt. Malzahn.
“Sgt. Malzahn drew his firearm and fired twice in the direction of Mr. Timberlake, who was still pointing the weapon in his direction. One round struck a nearby fire extinguisher causing it to rupture and spray powder throughout the breezeway. The other round struck Officer Barefoot in the left hip.”
Timberlake pulled back inside and shut the door. After Malzahn and Clark pulled Barefoot clear and called EMS and backup, they ordered Timberlake to come out and lie down.
He complied, and was apprehended without further incident.
Barefoot was taken to the hospital, treated and released.
The investigation is ongoing. Sgt. Malzahn is on administrative leave pending the result of the internal review.
Timberlake has since been charged with assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm and is being held in the Wake County jail on a $250,000 bond.
Timberlake has previously been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, driving while impaired and resisting arrest by Wake Forest police and second-degree trespassing by Raleigh police, dating back to 2011, according to online crime reports provided by the City-County Bureau of Identification.
His only convictions have been for DWI in 2010 and an attempted DWI in 2012, both for which his sentence was suspended, N.C. Department of Correction records reveal.