Aronberg has chance to prove independence
“Judge me by my words and my actions, that our only loyalty is to the public,” said Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the shooting death of Corey Jones, Aronberg told The Post Editorial Board on Monday that his “commitment is to the public. It’s not to an agency; my commitment is to the public, and to act independently and fairly.”
But at news conferences, rallies and town hall meetings, the public repeatedly questions the state attorney’s independence.
This may well be his best opportunity to answer those questions.
You see, Corey Jones could have been anyone that night. But he wasn’t. He was a 31-year-old black man with two jobs and no criminal record. His tragic death takes place in the current national environment of frustration surrounding police-involved shootings of black men — from Tucson, Ariz., to Ferguson, Mo., to North Charleston, S.C.
However, just as significant is palpable frustration and well-deserved skepticism locally about Aronberg’s ability to impartially investigate our police agencies, given his history with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw’s office. In April, The Palm Beach Post and WPTV-NewsChannel 5 looked at more than 250 incidents in which police officers fired guns in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. The shootings killed 86 people and wounded 97. Almost all of the shootings, upon investigation, were deemed to be justified — 97 percent.
No officer has been criminally charged in an on-duty shooting in Palm Beach County since 1993. Aronberg took office in 2013, and has since faced at least 20 cases and cleared police in all of them. Among the officers he declined to indict was Deputy Adams Lin, who shot and paralyzed an unarmed Dontrell Stephens in September of that year, sparking national outrage.
Moreover, Bradshaw has inextricably tied himself to Aronberg. During a defiant speech at a Police Benevolent Association gala over the summer, the sheriff made a point of thanking Aronberg, calling him “one of those good people who have stood up lately and been the person that’s been counted on to do the right thing.”
Aronberg insisted Monday on his office’s independence — that he and Bradshaw are not joined at the hip. He said, for example, that some of the police shooting cases were taken to a grand jury but no charges were filed.
“We prosecuted a cop — this is just recently, just now, for armed sex battery. We’ve done perjury ... We’ve done domestic battery, theft,” he said. “Since I’ve been here, DUI, aggravated battery ... official misconduct, organized scheme to defraud. These are all cases we prosecuted against police officers, showing our independence.”
Yet in the days following Jones’ shooting, state and local leaders called that independence into question. As early as last Tuesday, the Florida Legislative Black Caucus was pushing for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to step in. At that time, even Jones’ grieving family was having difficulty getting information about the investigation into the popular drummer’s death.
By last Thursday’s huge #RallyForAnswers in Palm Beach Gardens, speaker after speaker rotated between pleading for calm in the wake of the shooting, demanding transparency and pushing for an “outside” agency or prosecutor.
On Friday, Bradshaw announced that the FBI would be joining his investigation into what caused officer Nouman Raja to shoot Jones, who was waiting for a tow truck around 3 a.m. on Oct. 18 after his car had broken down on the southbound exit ramp of Interstate 95 and PGA Boulevard. We commend Bradshaw for his decision.
It’s all the more reason why it was difficult to understand why Aronberg appeared to turn a deaf ear to the community’s request to let FDLE handle the investigation.
His focus, he told the Editorial Board on Monday, has been on the Jones’ family and their needs.
That’s fine, but as state attorney, he answers to all 1.3 million residents of Palm Beach County. And many of them have sounded a clarion call for fairness and transparency that will lead to a just outcome — regardless of whether that results in charges against Raja.
It is Aronberg’s job to assure them of that.