R.I.P. VAN WINKLE: Gunman Dies After Being Shot, Tasered And Beanbagged
A gunman who refused to surrender to cops after repeatedly firing a handgun has died after he was hit twice by assault rifles, tasered and also beanbagged.
Suspect Ringo Van Winkle, 32, had been picked up on a CCTV camera outside a convenience store as he handled a gun on a road in Mesa, in Maricopa County, in the US state of Arizona.
He was then seen stepping out into the street to fire seven rounds into the distance before running away.
But when police caught up with him, Van Winkle apparently refused to surrender
Newsflash obtained the images from the Mesa Police Department (MPD).
The images showing the officer-involved shooting were filmed on the night of 17th to 18th February at 2.43am but were obtained from the police on 11th April.
The images first show Van Winkle firing his pistol towards a nearby McDonald’s after a row with an unnamed person.
The footage then shows one of the responding police officers ordering Van Winkle to “get on the ground, now!”
The officer repeats his order and tells the suspect to “drop it!” but the suspect does not comply, with the police officer then firing three shots at him.
Van Winkle then falls to the ground, with another police officer then asking the first officer where the suspect is located.
The officer responds that he is down on the ground, indicating his location.
The police officers then stop their advance and contact their colleagues for backup.
They put together an “action team” to approach the downed suspect while shielded by a large police vehicle.
One of at least five officers sheltered by the vehicle can be seen holding what police said was a beanbag shotgun, deemed “less lethal”.
The officers ask the suspect to show them his hands, but Van Winkle does not comply.
The officer holding the beanbag shotgun then fires a single round at the suspect as the police officers approach.
But the suspect then appears to reach for his waistband, with a police officer with a rifle then firing a single round at Van Winkle.
Another cop shocks him with a taser.
The officers can then be seen giving Van Winkle first aid. He was taken to hospital but declared dead.
The officers have not been named, but the police said that the officer who fired his rifle four times was a veteran cop of seven years and that this was his second officer-involved shooting.
A female cop – who fired the beanbag shotgun – and the officer who deployed the taser have both been MPD officers for five years each.
The police said that they were turning over all of their evidence “to the Maricopa County’s Attorney’s Office for review”, as is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.