An upstate New York man was left critically injured last weekend after he doused himself in hand sanitizer and burst into flames when he w...
An upstate New York man was left critically injured last weekend after he doused himself in hand sanitizer and burst into flames when he was tasered by police.
Jason Jones, 29, who appeared intoxicated, was Tasered by officers at the Catskill Village Department during a confrontation.
He was taken to the intensive care unit at Clark Burn Center at SUNY Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse in grave condition.
Officers from the department said they were familiar with Jones from previous encounters.
'I think they were afraid he was going to hurt himself, and that´s what started it,' Chief Dave Darling told the Time Union of Albany. 'There are still details that we´re trying to develop.'
The police chief described the situation as 'horrible' and said it was under investigation by the Greene County district attorney´s office.
Jones arrived to the Catskill Village Police Department last week and had allegedly doused himself in hand sanitizer before he was tasered
Jones, who was said to have previous encounters with officers, was Tasered by them to subdue him
Darling said that his officers are not equipped with body cameras but that there are video cameras in the police station.
It is unclear when Jones poured hand sanitizer on himself and if the officers actually witnessed him doing it.
An anonymous law enforcement, however, claims they witnessed Jones taking his clothes off before covering himself with the hand sanitizer during the confrontation.
Attorney Kevin A. Luibrand, representing Jones' family, has declined to comment.
'We've requested preservation of all recordings and written materials and have no further comment,' Luibrand said.
'He added that Jones is seriously injured as a result of the incident but would not provide insight into why his client was in the police station.'
Luibrand had written a letter to Darling on Thursday requesting the preservation of the recordings and written materials as well as the computer data from the Tasers.
Chief Dave Darling called the situation 'horrible' and said that there was video cameras in the office at the time of the incident
'The only timeline we're on right now with the family is to get him recovered — that's all the family is focused on,' Luibrand said.
'They're focused on what's important to them right now, which is the health of their son.'
The Catskill School District superintendent Ronel Cook made a statement on Friday.
Jones had been a 2010 graduate of Catskill High School and was considered to be a star athlete for the school's track and basketball team.
'Mr. Jones was a star multisport student-athlete who excelled in track and basketball, Superintendent Ronel Cook said, according to Hudson 360.
'I do not know all of the particulars regarding this unfortunate situation. Nevertheless, Mr. Jones is a Catskills graduate. Anyone who graduates from this fine institution is considered a member of the Catskills family.
'I wish Mr. Jones a speedy recovery and our thoughts and prayers are with him.'
Jones remains in grave condition at SUNY Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse
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