HORRIFYING

New York Man Dies After Police Stun Gun Sets Him Ablaze

The 29-year-old had doused himself in hand sanitizer just before officers deployed a stun gun.

The New York attorney general has launched an investigation after a 29-year-old man died following a bizarre encounter with police in which he literally caught fire from a stun gun. Jason Jones died earlier this week after spending several weeks in a burn unit following the Oct. 30 incident, The New York Times reports. Officials say Jones suffered burns after Catskill police officers deployed a stun gun on him just after he had doused himself with hand sanitizer. Joseph Stanzione, the Greene County district attorney, opened an initial inquiry into the incident, but the investigation has since been taken over by Attorney General Letitia James.

In an interview with the Times Union of Albany, Stanzione outlined what took place between Jones and Catskill police. Officers had responded to a call near a bar that Jones happened to be at, and for unknown reasons, he went to the nearby police station, where a confrontation ensued. Jones was not in police custody at the time of the incident.