A Vancouver man who allegedly threatened a police officer while holding an assault rifle told the officer he had just returned from serving in Afghanistan, court records show. His wife said she thinks he may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Daniel Langu, 29, appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree assault in connection with the Thursday morning incident at a residence in the 9000 block of Northeast 54th Street.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Vancouver police Officer Bennie Taylor was dispatched to the area for a noise complaint at about 1:10 a.m. Taylor drove through the complex and saw an open garage door with multiple people inside. He said he suspected this was the source of the complaint.
Taylor approached the group to talk and determined the noise wasn’t excessive. He was leaving the property when a man, identified as Langu, came from the back of the garage carrying an assault rifle, according to Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
Langu allegedly told the officer to “get the (explicit) off my property. I’m going to shoot you,” the affidavit said. He locked the gun’s slide back, then forward, and positioned the weapon as if he was ready to shoot. Langu then said, “I just got back from Afghanistan. I’ll (explicit) shoot you right now,” court records said.
Taylor retreated back to his patrol car and additional officers responded.
Langu’s wife came out of the residence and had blood on her clothing, according to court documents. She said the blood was from fighting between Langu and two others at the residence. She also saw the assault rifle, which belongs to Langu, she said, on the couch near them. She hid the rifle in bushes outside the garage, the affidavit said.
She also confirmed that Langu had served in the special forces and was recently in Afghanistan. She said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and had been speaking of suicide lately, court records said.
Langu eventually exited the residence and was arrested.
On Friday, Judge Daniel Stahnke appointed attorney Jeff Riback to represent Langu and set his bail at $50,000.
He will be arraigned April 15.
