Warrants: Man killed by Wake deputies held hostages

A man shot and killed by Wake County deputies Saturday held his wife and a child hostage overnight and threatened them with an ax, according to search warrants and 911 calls released Thursday.

Posted 2:53 p.m. Dec 23, 2010 — Updated 9:50 p.m. Dec 23, 2010

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man shot and killed by Wake County deputies last Saturday held his wife and a child hostage overnight and threatened them with an ax, according to search warrants and a 911 call released Thursday.

Affidavits attached to the warrants state that Cody Knisley held his wife, Dana Knisley and her daughter against their will until she managed to escape the house while he was sleeping and get help.

Her brother, Danny McCloud called 911, and officers responding to that call shot Cody Knisley, authorities have said. Witnesses said Knisley had a shotgun and didn't obey deputies' commands to put down the weapon.

Knisley, who was separated from his wife, went to the home sometime on Bold Run Road in northern Wake County sometime between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and had the ax and shotgun with him, according to the 911 call.

"He got an ax, was swinging it around. He punched her in the face, busted her nose," the caller said. "He said he was going to kill her -- chop her in little pieces."

Knisley's family said that he suffered from mental problems and had been suicidal.

Deputies Dusty Mullen, David Bradford and David Chamblee were placed on administrative leave following the shooting, pending a State Bureau of Investigation review of the case. That’s a standard procedure when officers are involved in a shooting.

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