BAILEY, N.C. (WNCN) — CBS 17 obtained the body cam videos from a deadly officer-involved shooting in Nash County last month.
On February 9 three deputies shot and killed a man in front of his home.
Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone would not give CBS 17 an on-camera interview on Sunday because this is still an active investigation, but we did speak with him on the phone.
He told CBS 17 the three deputies directly involved in the shooting did not turn their body cameras on until after they shot the man who died.
Stone says deputies have to manually turn their body cameras on and that’s the last thing on an officer’s mind when responding to a threat.
A video of deputies shooting 28-year-old Jonathan Ramirez was captured on a Nash County deputies body camera as he was pulling up to the scene. It is the only video of the actual shooting.
Deputies claim Ramirez was armed and pointed a gun at them, but from the angle of the video it’s unclear if Ramirez had a gun.
“He’s got an AK-47 in his truck and I’m scared,” the 911 called told the dispatcher.
According to authorities, three deputies responded to a sexual assault call around 5 a.m. February 9 on Maudis Road in Bailey. The 911 caller told the dispatcher Ramirez had assaulted her.
“He assaulted….,” said an officer on scene. “They’d been drinking and she said there was cocaine in it and an AK-47.”
The sheriff says when the three deputies arrived at Ramirez’ home he refused to follow their instructions and pointed a rifle at deputies. That’s when they fired, killing him.
“Stay back mam!” an officer can be heard telling Ramirez’ mother.
“That’s my son!’ exclaimed Francisa Ramirez. “Where’s Johnny? That’s my son!”
The three deputies directly involved in the shooting did not turn their body cameras on until after they shot him.
“You wanna kill somebody else?” Ramirez’ father asked deputies.
“Hey calm down!” the officer can be heard telling him.
“My son is dead!” yelled Ramirez’ father. “My Johnny!”
Ramirez died before paramedics even arrived at the scene.
Sgt. John Winstead, Deputy Stan Ricks, and Detective Taylor Neal are all on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
CBS 17 did speak with the family when this first happened. CBS 17 reached out to them again Sunday for an interview.
They told us they wanted to check with their lawyer and they have not gotten back to us.
