Crump: Many questions in cop’s shooting of man
There may be relevant video footage in the Corey Jones police shooting that authorities haven’t yet disclosed, according to the lawyer representing the slain man’s family.
Benjamin Crump, the high-profile civil-rights attorney retained by Jones’ family, for the first time Wednesday addressed Jones’ death on national TV, urging authorities to immediately answer pertinent questions surrounding the death.
Police have said there is no body- or dashboard-camera video that shows Palm Beach Gardens police Officer Nouman Raja opening fire on Jones, a 31-year-old Boynton Beach man. However, the shooting happened early Sunday off the southbound exit ramp of Interstate 95 at PGA Boulevard, a major thoroughfare.
“What we do know is that this street was surrounded by
businesses with surveillance video. There was a streetlight that had video cameras on it,” Crump told CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday. “If the police have video cameras with information, don’t hide it from the family. Don’t hide it from the community.”
The killing of the popular church drummer early Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens was among the latest cases nationally of a young black man shot dead by a police officer, sparking a public outcry and helping thrust the case into the national spotlight.
“We don’t know how many times he was shot,” Crump said. “We don’t know whether he was shot in the back.”
Crump’s call for authorities to release any video came as outrage over the shooting reached the state Capitol on Wednesday, with members of the Black Legislative Caucus calling for an independent review of Jones’ death.
They also called for legislation that would put safeguards in place for future incidents, including mandatory body cameras for law-enforcement officers, dashboard cameras for police vehicles and automatic, independent reviews of all police-related shootings.
“This has to stop,” state Rep. Bobby Powell, D-Riviera Beach, said. “There is no evidence that we have seen that indicates this man was a troublemaker. He doesn’t have a record. My community is frustrated, and rightfully so.”
Florida Gov. Rick Scott offered the assistance of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in the investigation.
At issue in the shooting is whether it was the result of Jones and the officer misidentifying each other.
Raja was on duty about 3:15 a.m. Sunday as part of a detail related to a string of burglaries in the city, and the officer approached to investigate Jones’ broken-down Hyundai Santa Fe.
Raja, 38, spotted what he thought was an abandoned car and parked just behind Jones, police said.
When the officer exited his vehicle, he was suddenly confronted by Jones, police said. Police said Jones was in possession of a firearm when he confronted Raja, prompting Raja to open fire.
Jones’ family suspects that Jones didn’t realize Raja — whom police say was wearing plain clothes and driving an unmarked, departmentissued vehicle — was an officer.
“Apparently, this plainclothes police officer in an unmarked van at 3 a.m. in the morning approaches him,” Crump said. “He doesn’t know if this is a police officer or not. His family believes he went to his grave not knowing who this person was.”
What Jones “needed from police was a helping hand, and all he got was bullets,” Crump said.
Palm Beach Gardens police have declined to say whether Raja properly identified himself, citing an open investigation by the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office.
Jones’ gun, which according to police Jones purchased three days before the shooting, was recovered from the scene, police said. A photo released by police of Jones’ firearm showed it was a semiautomatic.
Jones had bought the handgun to protect himself from any potential danger, Crump said. But there was nothing in Jones’ character or history to suggest he ever would open fire on an officer, he said.
“His family, his brother, told me that [when] he went to get the gun, he wanted to make sure it was done legally,” Crump said. “He made sure he had a concealed-weapons permit. He was within his legal rights as an American citizen to have a gun for protection.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Scott consulted with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, another agency investigating Jones’ death, before announcing the FDLE would offer assistance.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg said his agency has a strong working relationship with FDLE, one in which the two agencies routinely exchange information. In response to the governor’s offer, the Prosecutor’s Office has begun communicating with FDLE about the case, Aronberg said.
“We intend to fulfill our responsibilities of fairness and transparency under the law and to the community,” Aronberg said.
In an abruptly announced news conference Tuesday, Palm Beach Gardens police offered few new details, insisting that the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office needed time to conduct a thorough review.
Among the records Palm Beach Gardens police said they weren’t publicly releasing were any potential 911 calls, reports, video of the scene and investigation, photos, recorded interviews or radio transmissions. The agency said it was withholding such key information at the behest of the Sheriff’s Office “to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”
Crump said the little information that police have offered indicated that Officer Raja “did not call this in on his regular channel” to report his encounter with Jones.
“He should have called for backup. He should have told somebody he was going to approach this vehicle,” Crump said.
Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University not involved in the case, similarly questioned whether Raja could have waited for backup police in uniform to arrive.
“If you are driving along and suddenly an unmarked car is waving to pull you over, you go, ‘Is this real?’ ” Jarvis said. “Cops always say, ‘If you have any doubts, you should keep driving to the nearest police station.’ ”
No one may ever know for certain whether Jones thought someone was approaching to rob or mug him when the officer showed up, Jarvis said. Danger can loom large when a person doesn’t realize it’s an officer approaching, he said.
As Raja approached Jones, it was about 3 a.m. and possibly dark, Jarvis said. Had Raja been in uniform, the encounter may have ended differently, he said.
“I can’t imagine why Raja, as a plainclothes cop, would stop to look at an abandoned car,” Jarvis said. “He would call a marked unit.”
As Palm Beach Gardens police Chief Stephen Stepp wrapped up Tuesday’s news conference, he declined to address many questions, including any department policy that would have figured into Raja’s actions early Sunday.
Jones in 2007 had faced a firearmrelated case, but charges stemming from it were dropped.
He was arrested on the charge of having an unlawful concealed-carry firearm in Miami Beach after an officer stopped the vehicle Jones was riding in because of the windows were tinted too dark. When the officer went up to the car to speak to the driver of the vehicle, he said he saw a revolver on the floor next to Jones. The gun did not belong to Jones, but a friend, records show.
Charges were dropped in 2009 after Jones completed a program that offers people with no prior record the chance to avoid having charges filed against them. The gun was returned to Jones’ friend.
In response to Jones’ death, a peaceful protest has been scheduled at 10 a.m. today outside the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.