JONESBORO, Ark. — Jonesboro Police have released the body camera video from a shootout that killed a man earlier this month.
The shooting happened Feb. 9, 2022, when investigators said 22-year-old Jayden Prunty was walking on Spruce Street. According to the body camera footage, Officer Corey Obregon told Prunty he was approaching as part of a drug interdiction operation in the area. Investigators said the officer “detected a strong odor of marijuana” and instructed Prunty to stop and talk to him.
The video shows Prunty walking away, denying that Officer Obregon can smell marijuana, while the officer continued to tell him to “Come here.” Eventually, Prunty ran and the officer followed, and both fell to the ground. Prunty was on the ground as the officer tried to cuff him, and then the officer told dispatch he had a suspect “fighting.”
Investigators said Prunty was reaching for something, and the officer realized it was a gun. You can hear him in the video telling Prunty to let go of the gun, saying, “I promise you if that’s a gun, it’s not going to end well for you.” And Prunty responded, “I know. I know it’s not.”
Seconds later, a shot is heard, which investigators said Prunty fired, hitting Officer Obregon in the leg. Both men were then on their sides on the ground. The officer then pulled his gun and fired two shots, which appeared to hit Prunty in the head as both men remained on their sides.
The officer then called for help from dispatch, saying shots have been fired. Investigators said you can hear the officer kick the other gun away. Other officers responded to the scene.
Investigators said Prunty died at the hospital. The officer's injury was non-life-threatening.
Officer Obregon was placed on paid administrative leave.
Arkansas State Police are in charge of the investigation.
The full video is available HERE. A warning that the video is graphic, and viewer discretion is advised.
Jonesboro Police also placed an edited version of the video on Facebook, saying "Our department recently experienced an officer-involved shooting incident on February 9, 2022. The Arkansas State Police immediately took over the investigation and Officer Corey Obregon was placed on paid administrative leave. While that investigation nears completion, in the interest of the transparency of the department, we are releasing body camera footage related to that incident.
This video briefly explains the chain of events. As you will see, this video has been edited but none of the content has been compromised."
That video is available HERE.