A Florida police officer has been charged with manslaughter and attempted murder for fatally shooting a man who was waiting beside a road for a breakdown truck, and then continuing to fire even as the man ran away in fear.
Nouman Raja was indicted by a Palm Beach County grand jury on Wednesday and arrested for repeatedly shooting Corey Jones, a 31-year-old church band drummer, in the early hours of 18 October last year. Raja could face life in prison if convicted.
Raja was dressed entirely in plainclothes and failed to identify himself as a police officer as he confronted Jones with a gun, according to a charging document released by authorities. He drove the wrong way up an exit ramp in an unmarked van to make contact with Jones, who produced his legally owned handgun before “fleeing, frightened” and throwing the weapon aside.
“The grand jury today has found that Mr Raja’s use of force was unjustified,” state prosecutor Dave Aronberg said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The charging document said Jones’s homicide was caused by “Officer Raja’s culpably negligent actions”. It said Raja approached Jones in a “tactically unsound, unsafe and grossly negligent manner” and that “a reasonable person can only assume the thoughts and concerns Corey Jones was experiencing as he saw the van approaching him at that hour of the morning”.
Jones’s family said in a statement they were relieved that Raja had been charged for what they called a “reckless act”. They said: “While we understand that nothing can bring back our son, brother and friend, this arrest will send a message that this conduct will not be tolerated from members of law enforcement.”
The charges against Raja were based on an extraordinary recording of the shooting captured by a call center that Jones had contacted, requesting roadside assistance after his vehicle broke down on the way back from a concert he played in Jupiter with his band, Future Prezidents. Parts of the recording were transcribed in the charging document, a probable cause affidavit.
After two minutes of chatter, the recording picked up the sound of chimes indicating Jones’s car door was opened, followed by an exchange between him and Raja at about 3.15am. When asked by Raja “You good?”, Jones said: “I’m good.”
Raja asked again: “Really?” Jones replied: “Yeah, I’m good.”
Raja again asked: “Really?” Jones said: “Yeah.” The charging document said: “At no time during the recording did Raja say he was a police officer.”
Raja, who was on duty seeking car burglars but wearing sneakers, blue jeans, a tan T-shirt and a tan-colored Caterpillar-brand baseball cap with a CAT logo, was then heard shouting: “Get your fucking hands up! Get your fucking hands up!”
Jones replied: “Hold on!”
Raja again shouted: “Get your fucking hands up! Drop!”
Immediately after saying “drop”, Raja fired three gunshots, paused for 10 seconds and then fired three more times, according to the recording. Two shots struck Jones in the arms – one from behind as he fled – and one, fatally, hit his chest and passed through his heart.
Raja had left his police vest and service weapon in his vehicle and shot Jones with his personal pistol. His sergeant told investigators Raja had been trained to wear the vest and identify himself as an officer. Having been hired in April 2015, Raja was terminated from his job less than a month after the shooting on the grounds that he did not complete his probation period.
Raja called 911 using his cellphone and reported he had shot a black man carrying a silver handgun before losing contact with him. He claimed that Jones “pointed the gun at me, and started running”. Investigators said they found Jones’s handgun about 72 feet from the back of his car and located Jones’s body about 192 feet away from the car. Jones had bought the Jimenez gun legally just three days earlier at a licensed outlet.
Authorities concluded that Jones fled Raja, tossing his gun in the process, after their verbal exchange. “There is no question that Jones ran away from Raja,” the probable cause affidavit said. “Despite this observation, realizing that Jones had ‘thrown’ his handgun in the grass near the rear of Jones’ vehicle, Officer Raja continued to fire at Jones as he ran away.”
Aronberg, the prosecutor, said on Wednesday that Raja had been charged with one count of manslaughter by culpable negligence, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, along with one count of attempted first degree murder, which is punishable by up to life in prison.
