MESA, AZ — Mesa police officers were involved in a deadly shooting early Thursday morning.
The incident occurred around 2:45 a.m. when police were alerted to activity near Alma School Road and Main Street by an official camera system monitored by officers.
The video showed a man, later identified by police as 32-year-old Ringo Van Winkle, pulling out a gun after he appeared to be in an argument with someone else.
Van Winkle then raised a weapon, firing several rounds.
Video of that encounter can be seen in the player below.
Officers then responded to the scene and made contact with Van Winkle. An officer then shot Van Winkle a short time later, in which he dropped to the ground.
While trying to bring Van Winkle into custody, officers fired a bean bag round in an attempt to make Van Winkle comply, according to police.
Van Winkle continued to ignore police commands, at which point officers deployed a taser and fired another shot at Van Winkle. It is unclear if he was struck by the second set of gunfire.
Van Winkle was pronounced dead at a hospital. No other injuries were reported.
The Mesa Police Department says just after 2:30 Thursday morning an officer was monitoring the overt camera system when they witnessed a male walking up on the street.
Detective Richard Encinas tells ABC15 these cameras have proven to be very helpful and potentially lifesaving.
He adds these cameras have helped them intervene in other major crimes.
“Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop…was the first I heard,” said a woman who lives near where the shooting happened.
She talked to ABC15 about what she recalls waking up to.
“And then I heard three shots later,” she added.
Investigators say cameras recorded the suspect from the start.
“The officer was zooming in on the suspect so we’re not even sure what he was firing at,” he added.
Detective Encinas says these cameras are part of the initial rollout of the real-time crime center, "Which is coming online hopefully by the end of this year,” he said.
