Rosetta Lewis hugs Terry Banks after he spoke about his nephew Corey Jones at a news conference at the Bible Church of God in Boynton Beach, Fla., Wednesday, June 1, 2016. Dr. Gertrude Juste, an associate medical examiner in Palm Beach County, performed an autopsy and determined that the gunshot wound to Jones’ chest was what caused his death.
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A Florida police officer was arrested on manslaughter and murder charges Wednesday in the October shooting death of a musician whose vehicle had broken down on the highway, ABC News reports. Palm Beach Gardens fired him soon after the October 18 Jones shooting.
A former Florida police officer was arrested and charged on Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a black musician after a grand jury found that he had used unjustified force.
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announced the charges at a news conference after a grand jury found the shooting unjustified.
As a result, Raja was arrested and charged with two counts: manslaughter by culpable negligence, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, which carries a maximum life sentence. Aronberg declined to answer questions about the case.
Raja’s attorney, Richard Lubin, did not immediately respond to phone calls or email. His family said he carried a gun because he was hauling expensive equipment. Jones was armed at the time with a weapon he had purchased legally just three days earlier when he was approached by Raja, a plainclothes officer in an unmarked vehicle.
Jones, 31, was on the phone with an AT&T roadside assistance operator when Raja approached his vehicle, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Raja’s supervisor testified that he had instructed Raja to identify himself as an officer and to wear a police vest when working on burglary surveillance. “Instead, Raja confrontationally replied by asking the single word “really?’ when Jones twice said ‘I’m good” the affidavit said.
Ex-PBG Police officer Nouman Raja (right) appeared in court this morning. “It is also an important step forward for our community to begin to heal and to restore trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve”, said Murphy. “The conduct of officer Raja was reprehensible and an insult to all good police work that is done in America”. “Officer Raja now will be tried by a jury of his peers, and I have faith in the system that justice will be done”, Vice Mayor Eric Jablin said. Jones: Hold on! Raja: Get your fucking hands up! And Raja repeats his demand.
Raja was sacked after the shooting.
Despite his more than seven years of experience as a police officer, Raja acted “in a tactically unsound, unsafe and grossly negligent manner”, the affidavit said.
Raja gave a different account of the shooting in its immediate aftermath.
Documents released Wednesday alleged that Raja never identified himself to Jones as a police officer as he drove up to the stranded motorist, yelled commands and then opened fire. He claimed that Jones “pointed the gun at me, and started running”. Jones’ gun was found near his body, away from the auto, but he never fired it. He was not wearing the vest when he exited his van and confronted Jones, nor did he have his police badge hanging from his neck. The safety was on and it had fired no shots.
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David S. Weinstein, a former state and federal prosecutor, said Aronberg probably charged Raja with manslaughter and attempted murder instead of murder to make it more likely to get a conviction. If convicted, he could spend his life in prison.
