Officer Nouman Raja never showed a badge and wasn’t wearing anything that would indicate he was a police officer before he confronted Corey Jones on a highway offramp and shot him three times, killing him, lawyers for Jones’ family said Thursday.They spoke at a news conference after they were briefed by State Attorney Dave Aronberg, the only information they’ve received from authorities since Jones was killed by the Palm Beach Gardens officer around 3:15 a.m. Sunday.
What they said they were told lends credence to the view that Jones didn’t know Raja was a police officer. The State Attorney’s Office would not comment on the details released by the family’s attorneys.
Jones’ father, brother and sister also spoke at the news conference in front of the Palm Beach County Courthouse, with as many as 17 sheriff’s deputies and a police dog milling around. Family members recalled Jones in an outpouring of grief shortly before they went to a protest rally outside Palm Beach Gardens City Hall.
Jones’ vehicle had broken down on the southbound offramp of PGA Boulevard and Interstate 95. Attorney Benjamin Crump said Jones was in his vehicle when Raja pulled up in an unmarked white van with tinted windows. The van wasn’t flashing emergency lights, he said.
Exit ramp from southbound I95 at PGA Boulevard Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Corey Jones was fatally shot by a Palm Beach Gardens police officer early Sunday morning. (Bruce R. Bennett \/ The Palm Beach Post)
Exit ramp from southbound I95 at PGA Boulevard Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Corey Jones was fatally shot by a Palm Beach Gardens police officer early Sunday morning. (Bruce R. Bennett / The Palm Beach Post)
Images from the scene taken hours later by WPBF-TV Channel 25 indicate Jones’ sports utility vehicle was stopped on the ramp’s shoulder when Raja pulled up in a white Ford Econoline van and parked perpendicular and a few feet in front of Jones’ Hyundai Santa Fe, blocking several lanes.
Raja, who was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap, got out of the van without his badge, Crump said.
Melissa Jones cries as she talks about her brother, Corey Jones, as she stands with a family member, left, and attorney Benjamin Crump, right, during a press conference on the steps of the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach. (Brianna Soukup / The Palm Beach Post)
Melissa Jones cries as she talks about her brother, Corey Jones, as she stands with a family member, left, and attorney Benjamin Crump, right, during a press conference on the steps of the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach. (Brianna Soukup / The Palm Beach Post)
What exactly happened next is unclear, he said, but some things were known:
— Jones never fired his handgun, which he bought legally three days before.
— He had a concealed carry permit.Jones apparently ran away, since his body was found 80 to 100 feet from his vehicle. The gun had been dropped between his body and the vehicle.
— Raja fired six times, hitting Jones three times. The autopsy report isn’t finished, but one bullet broke Jones’ arm, and another entered his side and struck his aorta, likely killing him.