By Sheryl Estrada
Corey Jones. Photo from Facebook.
In the early morning of Oct. 18, Corey Jones, 31, a musician, was headed home to Boynton Beach, Fla. after finishing a late-night gig with the band Future Prezidents in Jupiter. His car broke down in Palm Beach Gardens at the exit ramp of Interstate 95 and Palm Beach Gardens Boulevard. Jones waited for a tow truck.
At approximately 3:15 a.m., OfficerNouman K. Raja, who wore plainclothes anddrove an unmarked white van with tinted windows, rolled up on Jones. The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said in a statement he was investigating burglaries in the area.Raja was “confronted by an armed suspect” uponexitinghis vehicle, andthe confrontation ended in himshootingJones.
Raja’s vehicle did not have a dash cam, nor was he wearing a body cam.
Editor of the Editorial Page of The Palm Beach Post Rick Christie has been managing coverage of theunfolding story, as well as the reaction of the local community.
“There’s a great deal of frustration about the shooting and concern about whether the investigation will be done properly, fairly and that it’s transparent,” Christie told Fair360, formerly DiversityInc.
Jones, aDelray Beach Housing Authority employee,was a drummer in a band and played in churches.Three days prior to the incident, he lawfully purchased a gun for protection. He had a concealed weapons permit and all of his papers were in order. Florida issues concealed carry licenses to both residents and non-residents.
The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department has not released details on exactly what happened, which has left Jones’ family and members of the community wanting answers.
Two investigations are now taking place, one by Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg and the other by Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. As of Saturday, the FBI has joined the sheriff’s office in its investigation.
A rally, which took place on Thursday in Palm Beach Gardens, began with a rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” a signature song of the civil rights movement.
The Jones family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump (who was the attorney for Trayvon Martin’s family), disclosed pertinent information:Raja did not display a badge, Jones’ body was found approximately 80 to 100 feet away from his car, Jones did not fire his gun and at one point was running away from the scene, Jones was shot three times by Raja and there were five exit wounds.
“Corey Jones was a peace loving, God loving young man who was the best in our community,” Crump said. “If you try to think about Corey Jones’ perspective, because he’s not here to give you his version of what happened that night, 3 a.m. in the morning he calls his brother C.J. to tell him he’s broke down waiting on a tow truck.
“His brother offers to come an pick him up. He says, ‘No, I’m gonna need my car because I have to go to church tomorrow because we have to play at the service.'”
Crump said at 3:19, C.J. called his brother back and did not get an answer.
“Corey would never ever ever ever go against the law,” Jones, a former NFL player and restaurant owner, said to the crowd at the rally. “Justice will be served. No disrespect about Black Lives Matter, but all lives matter. This is not a Black thing.”
Jones was referring to the Black Lives Matter movement, which campaigns against police brutality and has organized protests against police-related deaths of unarmed Black males, including Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray and 12-year-old Tamir Rice.
Policing in Palm Beach County
The incident happened in Palm Beach Gardens, a city that is 89.3 percent white and only 4.4 percent Black. It’s been considered a wealthy white enclave from Riviera Beach (65.9 percent Black), which is less than 10 miles away, and West Palm Beach (32.5 percent Black).
Members ofFlorida’s Black legislative caucus called for an independent review of Jones’ death on Wednesday. And they also called forlegislation, which would include automatic reviews of all police-related shootings, mandatory body cameras for officers and dashboard cameras.
“If this officer had been equipped with a body camera, there would be evidence to show what happened prior to the shooting,” Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park said to WLRN. “The evidence is now up to the officer, because Corey Jones is no longer living.”
Also on Wednesday, The Florida Democratic Black Caucus, Palm Beach County Chapter asked for the Justice Department to get involved.
A report by the Palm Beach Post and WPTV NewsChannel 5 examined more than 250 incidents of police officers firing guns in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. 97 people were wounded and 86 were killed. The shootings had a high clearance rate: 97 percent.
“That makes people question whether or not this will be done fairly,” Christie said.
The Florida Democratic Black Caucus, Palm Beach County Chapter is also calling for an independent investigation into the hiring process of the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.
Raja joined the department in April. According to the New York Times, in January 2013, while Raja was an officer in the Atlantis, Fla. police department, he did not turn in morphine pills that he seized three weeks prior from a suspect.
He received a written reprimand for that case and failed to file reports on several other cases as well. He excluded this information from his job application for the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.
The Palm Beach Postreports Raja took roughly a $10,000-a-year pay cut when leaving the Atlantis police department for Palm Beach Gardens.
He is on administrative leave pending the investigations.
