Police release bodycam footage of alleged Jon Jones car crash incident as ex-UFC star hit with criminal charge
Bodycam footage from the police officer at the alleged Jon Jones accident has emerged amid the criminal charge.
Jones was hit with a criminal charge just hours after announcing his UFC retirement.
It emerged that the former UFC heavyweight champion is facing a misdemeanour charge of fleeing the scene of an accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
A criminal summons accusing Jones of the charge was filed in Albuquerque Metropolitan Court.
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The 37-year-old is due back in court for a bond arraignment on July 24.
A police officer was said to be investigating a road accident on February 21 when they discovered a women in the passenger seat of one of the vehicles, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
The Albuquerque Police Department have since released portions of bodycam footage from the accident that occurred last February.
The video shows a police officer in dialogue with Jones over the phone.
Police claim the ex-MMA fighter fled and later threatened a police safety aide over the phone.
Jones' attorney, Christopher Dodd, has since released a statement slamming the charge that has been put against his client. He also denied Jones was driving the car.
"As Jon’s lawyer, I am stunned by the Albuquerque Police Department’s decision to charge him in this new case. In the thousands of cases I have handled in my career, I have never seen a case as strange and unwarranted as this one. Jon was not driving that night; he wasn’t in the car. It appears that an intoxicated woman used a false allegation against Jon to avoid being arrested for DWI, and the police fell for it," he said, per Ariel Helwani.
"Based on the criminal complaint, it looks like they went so far as to seek a warrant for Jon’s cell phone records while conducting a misdemeanour traffic investigation.
"I have never heard of such a thing. It is truly unbelievable that the police would waste this amount of resources on such a case. The only thing I can think of is that the police were targeting Jon for improper purposes. We will get to the bottom of it and make sure that this baseless case is dismissed."
SPORTbible has contacted Jon Jones' representatives and the Albuquerque Police Department for comment.
Nasir Jabbar