The murder of 31-year-old Corey Jones by plainclothes-wearing Nouman Raja shattered a bunch of popular theories that people just love to throw at us when we discuss race, racism, and police brutality. One belief is that economic security will insulate black folks from racism. Not true, obviously. Corey Jones was not a pauper by any means. Another meme that racist sympathizers use to ‘splain away the murders of young black men is, “he was no angel”. As if only angelic black people deserve to live. Well, by their standard, 31-year-old Corey Jones was that proverbial angel.
Jones then graduated from the University of Akron with degrees in business administration and music. He worked as a youth mentor at My Brother's Keeper, a non-profit organization that helps African-American youths.[7]
Jones worked at the Delray Beach Housing Authority for eight years. He was an Inspector/Assistant Property Manager, a job that involved inspecting housing units to make sure they were livable. The position also required assisting tenants and landlords with communication.[9][10]
Jones also worked part-time as a drummer.[11] He played in a band at his church, the Bible Church of God in Boynton Beach, Florida, where his grandfather, Sylvester Banks, Sr., is a bishop. He also played with a band called Future Prezidents with bandmates that included Boris Simeonov and Mathew Huntsberger.[7]
For those of us who do not remember this case, the musician was on his way from playing a gig the night before and eager to get home to prepare for church later that day. His vehicle broke down and he pulled off on the side of the exit ramp to wait for help. While he waited, he called family members, friends, and AT&T roadside assistance. It was that recorded call to AT&T which provided the clarifying evidence in the case against the murderer.
Officer Nouman Raja, wearing plainclothes and driving an unmarked car, could have stopped to offer help. That’s what decent people do. Instead, within seconds of his arrival on the scene, Corey Jones would be dead. Officer Raja fired six gunshots at Corey, three of which found their mark in his unresisting body. After doing his murderous deed, the murderer did what murderers do every time they take innocent lives: He lied. He lied that he had identified himself, he lied that he had called 911 before shooting Corey, and he lied that he feared for his life. He lied his head off and then he sought protection under Florida’s NRA-sponsored Stand Your Ground Law.
Guilty
In recent weeks we’ve had disheartening news in two high-profile cases. District Attorneys decided not to charge the cops involved in the cases of Stephon Clark and Emantic Bradford. Emantic was the “good guy with a gun” who got shot three times in the back as he sought to protect panicked shoppers. Stephon was in his grandmother's backyard when cops responding to a report of vandalism employed deadly force within seconds of coming in contact with him.
It was therefore with a sense of relief that we learned that the jury in the case of the State of Florida versus Nouman K. Raja found the defendant guilty. Not of first-degree murder, true; but of manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A lawyer representing Corey’s family said of the verdict:
“We see what can happen when prosecutors have the dedication to charge an on-duty law enforcement officer in the murder of an innocent black man, and what can happen when a thoughtful judge rejects a shameless ploy to use Florida’s questionable Stand Your Ground law as a shield against wrongdoing.”
The grand jury did its job. The jurors who sat through the trial did their job. The District Attorney’s office and their prosecutors did their jobs. And now it’s up to the judge. I’ll not exhale just yet.
And so we acknowledge the conviction of another entitled man who hid behind his uniform and badge to commit cold-blooded murder manslaughter. We’d love to have an empathetic, sophisticated police force, but if we can’t have that, then for goodness’ sake, let’s have accountability. Accountability serves as a deterrent which in bald terms means that a cop having read about the conviction of Nouman Raja will think thrice before pulling his gun on another citizen of these United States.
Thanks to the jury who decided this case. Thanks to the prosecutors who fought on behalf of the victim this time around. Now it’s up to the judge to make Raja pay for his murderous crime.
Rest in peace, Corey. We call your name. Your life mattered.