Prosecutor punts on Corey Jones case South Florida’s naval ties
FleetWeek scaled back but still strong
It’s a raciallycharged case. It’s a police-involved shooting. And it’s an election year.
So six months after Corey Jones was killed by a Palm Beach Gardens cop after Jones’ car broke down near Interstate 95, Palm Beach County State AttorneyDave Aronberg took the easyway out last week. He punted. Aronberg will bring the case to a secretive grand jury and not decide himself whether to clear or criminally chargeNouman Raja. Aronberg gets to buy more time while pawning off the tough decision onto a nameless, faceless group that meets behind closed doors.
It’s easy to understand why Aronberg, a first-term Democrat running for reelection, wants to distance himself fromthis tricky choice. If the shooting is deemed justified, then Jones’ family, friends and activists fromthe Black LivesMatter movement get angered. If Raja is indicted, then powerful police unions get upset.
What’s hard to understand is the way Aronberg spun his decision.
“Our only goal is to do justice, and I thinkwe are as transparent aswe can be under the rules,” Aronberg said at a news conference.
But going to a grand jury is the least transparent route of all. Grand jury proceedings are secret, so it’s the path that will breed the most cynicism and distrust. Especially in a case thatwas so murky and controversial fromthe start.
Even though Aronberg gives himself some cover by using a grand jury, prosecutorswield enormous control over the process. Prosecutors shape what grand jurors see and howthey see it, controlling witnesses, evidence and charging instructions.
Consistency helps in these highprofile cases. In Broward County, longtime State Attorney Mike Satz always brings police shootings to grand juries. Many copswere shocked and irate when a grand jury brought a manslaughter indictment against Broward Sheriff’s deputy Peter Peraza lastDecember for shooting a mentally disturbed man carrying an air rifle. Peraza is the first Broward cop to be criminally charged for an on-duty shooting since 1980.
Aronberg’s preferred method in police-involved shootings: Using his office’s investigators towork in tandem with police agencies, then making his own decision based on the law and facts as they’re known. That’s howhe’s done it in all but two other police-involved shootings.
For some reason, despite interviews with more than 200 people, he’s not able— or willing— to do it in this case.
Aronberg once told me he goes to grand juries when the involved officer doesn’t give a statement at the scene. But Raja, who has since been fired by Palm Beach Gardens, gave a statement after Jones’ shooting.
Just like Broward, police officers in Palm Beach County rarely get charged with bad shoots. The last time a cop stood trial for a fatal shootingwas 1993. Chargeswere brought against another officer in 2008, but he
An Army major may have built Fort Lauderdale, but in its heart and its history, it’s a Navy town. Especially during the first week ofMay.
Naval crewscampedalong the NewRiver beforeMajorWilliam Lauderdale arrived in1838. They returned in force during World War II, patrolling waters and training torpedo bomber pilots. They were frequent visitors over the ensuing years as Fort Lauderdalebecamea popular port of call, welcoming shiploads of good-time-seeking sailors.
Federal budget cuts and a smaller fleet have dramatically scaled back those visits, but haven’t broken the bond. One event more than any other keeps South Florida’s naval tradition alive: Fleet Week Port Everglades.
Starting Monday, flotilla of Navy and Coast Guard vessels will sail into Port Everglades for aweek of ship tours, galleywars, military band concerts, crew receptions and community outreach projects.
“Nothing swells your pride like watching these ships come in,” said Nicki Grossman, Broward’s tourism director.
Fleet Week is more than an economic stimulus or naval recruitment tool, Grossman said, because it taps into the region’s strong military ties.
More than 220,000 military veterans call South Florida home. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have seven Navy League chapters providing support to sailors and their families, adopting ships and recognizing top crew members with awards.
The Navy’s Florida recruiting efforts south of Orlando ranked fourth out of 26 regions nationally last year, officials said. Centers in Fort Lauderdale, Margate and Plantation scored the re-