The police officers used a taser on Jones, who later died. The New York Times reported on the Catskill Police Department.
A large man enters the lobby of a small police station in upstate New York. He is in a state of intoxication. He staggered around the room, shoving a small table aside, emptying his pockets, banging on a glass partition, and stripping off his clothes.
The two officers, joined by a third, mostly keep their distance as they talk to the man in a way that seems to calm him. After about 20 minutes, he leaves the room, returns and starts to use a large dispensers of hand sanitizer.
The encounter, caught by a security camera, appears to grow at that point. The officers move toward the man, who is out of the camera's frame, and one fires a stun gun at him. The man's head and body were in flames when the officers ran off.
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The footage was made public Friday by Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating the death of a man during a confrontation.
James said in her statement that the footage was being released to the public in order to increase transparency and strengthen public trust in these matters.
Kevin Luibrand said that he and his clients reviewed the footage about two weeks ago and that it corroborates what they believe happened.
He said that it confirms that only such an incident can be captured.
Jones died in the burn unit at a Syracuse, New York, hospital in December. Luibrand said that Jones lungs had been destroyed when he tried to put out the flames.
The episode at the police station began after officers responded to a call to a nearby bar.
Jones made his way to the police station while the officers were still at the bar, but it was not clear if he was involved in the call.
In addition to showing the events preceding the stun gun being fired, the footage also shows the aftermath: the officers returning and trying to help him, and another person entering the lobby, hugging Jones and rubbing his back. As the group waits for paramedics to arrive, Jones continues to exchange words with the officers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many hand sanitizers contain ethyl alcohol, which is considered a dangerous liquid. The CDC says that the incidence of fires related to such sanitizers is very low, but that it is vital that they be stored safely.
The police chief did not respond to calls. He told the Times Union of Albany that Jones appeared drunk when he arrived at the police station.
The episode was horrible, and I think they were afraid he was going to hurt himself.
USA Today and the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism at Indiana University found a pattern of sloppy, reckless and deadly use of the weapon involved in hundreds of deaths and injuries in the past decade.
According to USA Today, no entity tracks whether law enforcement authorities adopt the safety guidelines recommended by manufacturers and police training groups for the use of such weapons.
In his training sessions at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, Brian Higgins talks about the importance of determining whether or not there are any accelerants present when using stun guns.
He said that if officers are properly trained, they should try to confirm if the liquids nearby are alcohol-based.
He said that most people don't know that hand sanitizers are alcohol-based.
He was in a room with three police officers. They had a lot of options.
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