Corey Jones was a well-known drummer in his community
This past Sunday, Corey Jones, a 31-year-old Florida musician and
housing inspector, was shot and killed by
Palm Beach Gardens police officer Nouman Raja.
Raja was on duty and in plain clothes in an unmarked vehicle, according to cops. No details were released about the weapon Jones was allegedly armed with.For all we know it could've been a tire iron, a cell phone, his wallet, a pair of drumsticks, or his blackness.
The drummer was leaving a late night gig when his car broke down on I-95 near an exit ramp for PGA Blvd., authorities said. He called his brother to let him know about the trouble and to see if he could help him get a tow truck. Another friend actually helped get oil for the car with Corey, but it didn't make a difference.
Jones was supposed to sit in on drums for his church Sunday morning.
“When Corey wasn’t playing the drums for me, he was right down the street at his family’s church every single Sunday,” Benjamin Dixon, a friend of Corey’s told The News. “He was a church musician... a church man. He was the most laid back, easy going guy I’ve ever worked with.”
After pressure from family and community and even the
Palm Beach County Benevolent Association's president, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department finally held a press conference where Chief Stephen Stepp said that Corey Jones was in possession of a gun—a gun he had purchased three days
prior to being killed.
"As the officer exited his vehicle he was suddenly confronted by an armed subject. As a result of the confrontation, the officer discharged his firearm resulted in the death of Mr. Corey Jones," said Chief Stepp.
The only evidence released so far is a picture taken by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office of the gun Jones had Sunday morning. It was found on the ground outside of his car. A gun box with a matching serial number was found inside Jones' car. Chief Stepp said Sheriff's deputies found documents that show that Jones purchased the gun three days before the shooting.
Besides that information, very little else was released about the event. Raja's car had no dash cam and Palm Beach Gardens do not wear body cams. How many shots did Raja fire and did Jones fire his gun? Did Raja identify himself as a police officer, did he exit his vehicle with his gun drawn when approaching what he thought was an abandoned car—possibly to shoot ghosts? Stepp could not answer any of these questions.
He did say that officer Raja was hired in April of this year at a five percent higher salary because of "exceptional experience" and:
"There are no records with our agency of any complaints, disciplinary actions, or internal affairs investigations against Officer Raja," said Chief Stepp.
[my emphasis]
Atlantis Police Department has a different record on Raja.
Palm Beach Gardens officer Nouman Raja, who killed Corey Jones, was reprimanded by commanders at Atlantis police department for being “derelict in the performance of his duties” by repeatedly mishandling evidence and paperwork, according to his disciplinary file.
Pills confiscated by Raja from a woman who obtained them without a prescription in January 2013 were discovered in Raja’s patrol car more than a week later. “Officer Raja said he never did the report and he never secured the evidence,” his sergeant wrote in the file.
After further investigation, Raja was found to have had several other unfiled reports and was reprimanded with the threat of suspension.
The fact that Raja may have taken prescription pills from a suspect illegally does not make him a murderer. It does not mean that his explanation of the events leading up to the decision to shoot Corey Jones dead are untrue. But it shows a lack of discipline when it comes to dealing with evidence. This may be apples and oranges but there are prisons filled with people whose character "flaws" were held against them in circumstantial cases.