Cop Shoots Knife Out Of Bank Robber's Hand

Posted • February 11, 2025: Bodycam footage of the suspect arrested for robbing a bank using a large knife in Hobe Sound has been released. The Martin County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) said the robbery, which deputies discovered was carried out by Reginald Bernard Daniels, 50, occurred at Seacoast Bank, near the intersection of U.S. 1 and Bridge Road, at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Investigators said Daniels brandished a 'dagger-style' knife and demanded money from a loan officer, who didn't have any cash to give. After telling Daniels she didn't have money, he then went to the counter and demanded money from the teller. During the exchange with the teller, he spotted a patrol car in the parking lot causing him to flee on foot into the wooded area behind the Winn-Dixie shopping plaza. Deputies say they found Daniels barricaded in a Hobe Sound rooming house where he resides, not far from the bank. MCSO said Daniels refused to come out of his room and asked that deputies kill him.

The standoff lasted about 90 minutes. Bodycam footage shows Daniels' hand sticking out of the doorway of his room, and he's holding a knife, waving it in the air. SWAT team members are positioned in a hallway, about 20–30 feet away. The video shows Daniels repeatedly sticks his hand out into the hallway and then withdraws his hand. At one point, when Daniels' hand was visible, a SWAT team member fired a non-lethal projectile made of dense foam rubber at his hand. "One of our SWAT sergeants saw an opportunity to end this standoff and was able to use a less-lethal gun to shoot the knife out of the suspect's hand," said Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek. The projectile broke Daniels' wrist, causing him to drop the knife, and he was taken into custody a short time later. Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek provided an update alongside the recently released body camera video.

Sheriff Budensiek said the room captured in the body cam footage had already filled with CS gas, which affects a person's eyesight and breathing. Daniels had also been tasered several times and had been struck by non-lethal impact rounds. "All of which did not seem to have much effect on him, so he still was trying to lure our deputies in, our SWAT guys in even after all these things happened to him," Sheriff Budensiek said. Sheriff Budensiek did mention that a rifle with lethal rounds was present, and even with an open shot to end the stand-off Budensiek said it was ultimately decided to use non-lethal force. While Daniels was treated for gas exposure and a broken wrist, Budensiek said he was alive. "Our fear was throughout this whole standoff, that he was just gonna bum-rush for lack of a better word, run out with that knife and force our SWAT operators to take his life. Which is exactly what we didn't want obviously," Sheriff Budensiek said.

Daniels is charged with attempted robbery with a weapon and aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony.