Nash County Sheriff's Office releases body cam footage of fatal deputy-involved shooting

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Sunday, March 10, 2019
Nash County Sheriff's Office releases body cam footage of fatal deputy-involved shooting
Nash County Sheriff's Office releases body cam footage of fatal deputy-involved shooting

BAILEY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Nash County Sheriff's Office released body camera footage of a deputy-involved shooting that left one man dead in February.

The featured video is a shortened clip of a longer set of videos. ABC11 is reviewing the tapes and Tim Pulliam will have the full story at 6 p.m.

On Feb. 9, officials said deputies responded to a call from a sexual assault victim reporting a crime involving 29-year-old Johnathan Ramirez.

At the scene, officials said Ramirez did not comply and pointed a rifle at deputies, who then fired their weapons.

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Ramirez died at the scene.

Sgt. John Winstead, Deputy Stan Ricks, and Detective Taylor Neal were placed on administrative leave.

The family of Ramirez dispute what officials have said and believe deputies were searching for the wrong person.

The parents of Jonathan Ramirez released the following statement Sunday evening:

"Our son Jonathan was a wonderful young man. He had a fiancé and a great career in which he had worked for seven years. He had a promising future and was loved and respected by all in his community.
There is no indication that Jonathan pointed a gun at anyone. He would not point a gun at law enforcement. After all, he was in the front yard of his own home. Two trucks and a Tahoe came barreling up into the yard. There were no blue lights. It was not obvious that they were law enforcement.
We are devastated and grieving the loss of our son. We are trying to understand why these tragic events occurred."