OfficerBlueDanville, VA – Danville Police Department has released video which shows the shooting of 25-year-old Juan Jones Sunday night (video below.)
The incident started as a domestic violence call in the 2300 block of North Main Street at around 1:30 a.m., according to WSET.
Officers arrived and contacted a female victim who said that Jones had attacked her.
While officers were on scene, Jones drove up to officers and they repeatedly ordered him out of the car. He refused to obey their commands before eventually backing his car away from officers.
The officers on scene seemed content to let Jones back away from them, as there was no other way for Jones to drive out.
Officers continued to try to talk to Jones and get him to surrender as they called for backup. Jones moved his car around while continuing to ignore officers’ commands.
Jones finally parked his car and remained unresponsive as the officers tried to reason with him.
Finally, Jones accelerated his car forward where it got stuck in the nearby brush.
Officers confronted Jones as he exited his vehicle and attempted to de-escalate the situation while Jones was refusing to show his hands.
An officer deployed his Taser, which had no effect on the suspect.
Finally, Jones brought his hidden hand forward and joined it with his other hand in a shooting stance. Officers reacted by shooting Jones.
Officers provided first aid and called for medics. Jones was transported to Sovah Health where he was pronounced dead.
No weapon was recovered at the scene.
Jones’ aunt, Sarah Lipscomb, saw the video before it was released to the media and she claims that the shooting wasn’t justified, helping to kick off protests.
Virginia State Police will be handling the investigation, and they will turn over their findings to the Commonwealth’s Attorney for review, according to WSET.
You can see the video of the shooting below. The actual shooting happens near the end. WARNING: Graphic content.