Newly released bodycam footage shows why police detained Marshawn Kneeland’s pregnant girlfriend during the frantic search for the Dallas Cowboys defensive end. Catalina Mancera found herself in handcuffs on a November night that would end in devastating tragedy.
Report shows why police handcuffed Catalina Mancera during search for Marshawn Kneeland (Image via The Daily Mail)
Report shows why police handcuffed Catalina Mancera during search for Marshawn Kneeland (Image via The Daily Mail)
The videos provide answers to questions about what happened when officers encountered Mancera while hunting for the fleeing suspect.
Report shows why police handcuffed Catalina Mancera during search for Marshawn Kneeland
Around 11:16 p.m., an officer pulled over Mancera after noticing the white Buick registered to Kneeland. Police had spent nearly an hour searching for the driver who crashed a black Dodge Charger following a high-speed chase that reached 160 mph.
The trooper, who apparently did not yet know the suspect was Kneeland or that the woman was his girlfriend, directed Mancera to open the car door, step out of the car and walk backwards toward him. He put her in handcuffs andsaid, “You’re matching the suspect vehicle that’s come to pick up a guy, alright?”
Officers had discovered an empty holster under the seat of Marshawn Kneeland’s abandoned Charger, increasing their caution about a potentially armed individual. The officer placed Mancera in the front seat of his police car and searched the Buick.
After he cleared the vehicle, he removed Mancera from his car and took off her handcuffs. Mancera told him she lived nearby but her GPS had stopped working and she was trying to figure out where she was.
The officer sent her back to her car and told her to be safe, as there was a vehicle police were searching for matching her description.
Mancera remained in the area and became a critical part of the investigation. She was one of the last people to speak with Kneeland before his death, telling police he was armed, had a history of mental illness and would “end it all”.
Footagereveals that Mancera made those remarks and attempted to call both Kneeland and his agent while on the scene with the police.
Kneeland’s girlfriend drove to the search area but reportedly told police she could not reveal his location out of worry that he would kill himself. Officers continued monitoring her movements, hoping she might lead them to the missing player.
Officers began pinging Kneeland’s phone around 12:05 a.m., narrowing their search to a 300-meter radius near Gaylord Parkway and Network Boulevard. Police deployed K-9 units, fired pepper balls into drainage tunnels, and sent drones into wooded areas.
Shortly after 1 a.m., police used drones to investigate, believing they had pinpointed Marshawn Kneeland’s location. Thermal sensors on the drones detected body heat in a portable restroom standing in front of an office building. At 1:32 a.m., they found Kneeland inside, deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The 24-year-old had sent goodbye text messages to his family hours earlier, expressing he would “end it all.” The search lasted more than three hours and covered parking garages, office parks, drainage tunnels, and wooded terrain near The Star, the Cowboys’ practice facility.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer later announced the creation of the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund, established to support Mancera and her unborn child as they navigate their loss.