MESA, Ariz. - (WARNING: Some may find the video graphic. Viewer discretion advised)
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Man shot with bean bags in front of children while police officers in Mesa were serving a warrant
Police officials say they had a warrant for Lorenzo Jones for missing a court date involving an aggravated assault case. FOX 10's Bailey Miller reports.
MESA, Ariz. (FOX 10) -- On July 17, FOX 10 obtained a new video that shows the moment police in Mesa, while serving a warrant, fires bean bags at a wanted man in front of his fiance and children.
The video is making the rounds on social media, and now, the family of Lorenzo Jones is demanding answers after the video surfaced.
Video shows moments leading to incident
In the video, Jones was seen standing with his fiancee and four children while SWAT team members were telling him to put his hands up, and saying he is not complying.
When Jones faced the officers and raised his arms, the officers fire a non-lethal bean bag shot at him, knocking him to the ground. Then, officers fired two more rounds of bean bags at him. After that, Jones began to walk backwards, with his hands on his head, towards the officers.
As the video went on, SWAT team members called Jones' fiancee and their children over.
Mesa Police release details surrounding Jones
Mesa Police officials say Jones was wanted for 2 alleged aggravated assault on a child and alleged aggravated assault on a police officer.
On July 12, Jones was released on $5,000 bond. The next day, however, Jones did not show up for a status conference, and a judge issued a bench warrant.
Mesa Police officials say they received information that Jones had a handgun, so officers wrote a search warrant relating to the aggravated assault case, as well as for misconduct involving weapons, and that’s what police say they were conducting at the time of the incident.
Family, Mesa Police Chief speak out
On July 17, Jones' fiance, Tanisha Gaston, shared her perspective on the incident.
"My kids are scared. Really scared," said Gaston. "They shouldn’t have seen that. I just want us to get justice for this."
Mesa's police chief, Ken Cost, also spoke out following the video's release.
"We are thankful that the citizen in this filmed this," said Cost. "We appreciate it when citizens do that. We need to review the officers' reports. We are in the process of doing that. It will give more specifics."
Cost said the department will be reviewing video and reports over the coming days, and will be transparent. SWAT team members do not have body-worn cameras in Mesa.