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checkout. Invisible

1:24

Choir explores detailed depictions of violence

1:26

and murder and is not appropriate

1:29

for all audiences. Listener

1:31

discretion is advised. And I saw like a

1:33

flash, a silver flash, like a metallic flash

1:36

come at me and in

1:38

my head I immediately fucking said, aim,

1:41

aim. And I was like, aim. And I was like, and

1:43

I'd speak that front side right in the center of my

1:45

head. Chance

1:58

encounters. They happen often.

2:01

For example, let's say you're having a terrible

2:03

day at work, but at lunch you head

2:05

out to a food truck, and

2:08

the stranger in front of you in line strikes

2:10

up a decent conversation, and before you

2:12

know it, they've offered to pay for your sandwich

2:14

and fries. A strange

2:16

encounter like this can make a difference in

2:18

perspective in a positive way. However,

2:21

some chance encounters are not positive

2:23

at all. When a

2:25

person is surprised at the wrong time by the

2:27

wrong person, well, a chance

2:30

encounter can become deadly. And

2:32

if guns are involved, a split-second

2:34

surprise can easily trigger a terrible

2:37

choice within a matter of seconds.

2:40

Seconds are all it takes for a person to

2:43

be vibrant and breathing until they're

2:45

suddenly shot down and all that

2:47

was vital becomes still and cold.

2:50

And on October 18, 2015, it took just 13 seconds

2:52

for tragedy to strike. On

3:17

Saturday, October 17, 2015, Corey

3:21

Jones planned to play a show with

3:23

his reggae band Future Presidents at Johnny

3:25

Mango's Tiki Bar, located in

3:27

Jupiter, Florida. The

3:30

band planned to play from about 10 p.m. till 1

3:32

a.m. Corey played

3:34

the drums and he owned a pretty expensive

3:36

drum set. He

3:38

came from a musical family and had grown up

3:40

playing music at church. That

3:43

day Corey spent time running errands. He

3:45

then stopped by his brother CJ's house,

3:47

which was located less than an hour's

3:49

driving distance from where Corey's

3:52

show was scheduled later that night. The

3:55

two brothers were quite close and had lived with

3:57

each other off and on over the years. In

4:00

fact, Corey's older brother is the one who

4:02

taught him to play drums. When

4:06

Corey pulled his Hyundai up to his

4:08

brother's house, CJ was already waiting outside,

4:10

and Corey had something exciting to

4:12

show him. I'm pretty much

4:14

a drummer. I taught my brother how to play. I

4:17

learned from my uncle in the

4:20

churches and stuff like that. And we

4:22

just, well, yeah, you learn how

4:24

to play both sides. So when

4:26

it came to everything that he did in regular life,

4:28

from eating to

4:31

writing, everything else was he right

4:33

or left handed? It was left. Just

4:38

prior to his death, did Corey purchase

4:40

a firearm? Yes. How

4:42

close in time to

4:44

that Saturday night, Sunday morning, did he pick

4:46

up that gun, sir? I

4:49

don't know quite when

4:52

he got the... Bases?

4:56

Over on. Well, I

5:00

don't know exactly when he got the gun,

5:02

but I know when he showed me the

5:04

gun. It was on

5:06

that Saturday before he left for the gig. So

5:09

that's Saturday, October 17th of 2015.

5:12

You saw that firearm that Corey

5:15

had bought? Yes. And

5:17

where did you see it at? On

5:19

my scene on this passenger side, on

5:22

the passenger side on the seat he has on the seat

5:24

inside the case. And was this,

5:27

did he come over to your house? Yeah, he

5:29

came by the house and he parked in the front. He

5:32

parked in the front. I was

5:34

outside already and he came around. He came

5:36

around in the front. So he's like, bro,

5:38

I got something. I was like, what you

5:40

got? Sustained, just

5:43

don't tell us what he told you, but he's got...

5:45

Just saw, sir. Oh, yeah, I seen the gun. And

5:49

was it still in the box that he had purchased it?

5:51

Yes, it was still in the box. And

5:53

you saw it on his seat or did

5:55

he put it anywhere else? No, it was on his passenger

5:57

seat. He didn't even touch it. It was just... on

6:00

the seat. Now

6:04

was he an avid shooter or is

6:06

this something that you know kind

6:08

of came out of nowhere? No he's

6:10

not a shooter never we never had again.

6:18

CJ mentored his younger brother Corey throughout

6:20

the years and before becoming a

6:22

personal chef in Florida CJ

6:25

played in the NFL as a wide receiver.

6:28

Corey moved with him when he played for different teams

6:30

in different cities. The brothers

6:32

were pretty much inseparable so

6:34

much so that after Corey accepted a football

6:37

scholarship at the University of St. Francis in

6:39

Fort Wayne, Indiana he decided

6:41

to leave school to live with his

6:43

brother when CJ signed with the Cleveland

6:45

Browns in 2003. In Ohio

6:48

while CJ played football he

6:50

also paid it for Corey to go to college

6:53

in Akron so he could learn to read sheet

6:55

music. I bought him that

6:57

set and when I was in the NFL I

6:59

was playing with Cleveland that was his thing that

7:01

he wanted me to get him and

7:03

so I bought that. How much did it cost? Personally

7:08

back then it was

7:10

almost like $5,500 and everything else he

7:14

wanted the base set of it and everything

7:16

else he pretty much worked

7:19

to get as far as like his extra accessories.

7:21

He added to it after you bought him that

7:24

kit? Yeah he added to it a lot. He

7:26

added all the little drum things and yeah

7:28

he added to it. And you said

7:31

that you bought it for him back

7:33

when you're in the NFL? Yeah I

7:35

was that was like 2004 or 2005.

7:38

And at one point were you a professional football

7:40

player for the NFL? Yes. And

7:43

what do you play

7:45

for the Browns? The

7:47

Browns, Patriots, Seattle Seahawks,

7:51

Kansas City and Denver Broncos. By

7:53

October 17th of 2015 Corey

7:56

was 31 years old and had

7:58

played in numerous bands. Townsend was a

8:01

respected musician throughout Florida. In

8:03

addition to drumming, he was active in his

8:05

church and worked for the housing

8:08

authority in Delray Beach as an inspector, making

8:10

sure landlords kept their rentals up to code.

8:14

The tiki-bar gig was on Saturday though,

8:16

so drumming was his fun job, a

8:19

way to let loose for the night and earn a

8:21

little extra cash on the side. That

8:24

evening, Corey had plans to drive to the show with

8:26

one of his cousins. However, his

8:28

cousin called around 5.30pm

8:30

to cancel because he forgot he

8:33

had plans to watch a youth league football game.

8:36

Corey told his cousin that he would see him at

8:38

church the following day. He also

8:40

told him that he loved him. After

8:43

he'd learned he'd beat driving solo, he took

8:45

a nap at his brother's house, then woke

8:47

up around 6.30pm, and

8:49

a few hours after that, with the drum set

8:51

down packed inside of his Hyundai Santa Fe, he

8:54

headed to Jupiter, Florida, which was about

8:56

a 45-minute drive away from his

8:58

brother's house. Typically

9:01

Corey wouldn't have been driving alone to and from

9:03

a gig. The four-member

9:05

band usually drove together when they played

9:07

shows. The band

9:09

owned a van they called Jackie-O,

9:11

which was an 11-seat Mercedes Sprinter

9:14

van used for touring. Corey

9:17

liked to sit near the rear by his drum set

9:19

and listen to music while the group traveled together. The

9:23

band members usually met at a house in

9:25

Delray Beach and loaded up before heading to

9:27

gigs. However, they recently put a

9:29

lot of mileage on the van on their tour

9:31

out to the Midwest, so the

9:33

van was in the shop that Saturday for

9:35

routine maintenance. This gig

9:38

that you guys played that night, how

9:40

long did it last? It was three

9:43

hours. It was ten to one. Ten

9:46

to one. Can

9:49

you tell for me, tell

9:51

the members of the jury, when

9:53

you met up with Corey that night, October 18,

9:55

2015, when you guys first got together, what was

9:58

it like to be in the van? What

10:00

was Cory's demeanor? He

10:02

was just, he was

10:04

just hurrying to set up and so we kind of

10:06

chill. I think he was trying to eat food actually

10:08

that night. So he was just, just

10:11

a normal, he's always, when

10:13

he's like on the drums, he's like really always

10:16

happy and you know, just a nice,

10:18

you know, a nice individual overall, just,

10:21

you know. So that's the kind of

10:23

person that I knew from the

10:26

short time that I knew him. Johnny

10:29

Mangos' Tiki Bar and Grill was the sort

10:31

of place folks go to see local bands

10:33

or to watch sports on a

10:35

lazy Saturday afternoon in a beachy laid

10:37

back atmosphere. It housed

10:39

a number of orange and turquoise booths,

10:41

a small raised stage and

10:44

an oval shaped bar surrounded by tall

10:46

chairs that looked as though they

10:48

were made of bamboo and braided palm leaves. The

10:51

fake thatched roof bordered the upper part of the

10:53

bar near the ceiling where a number

10:55

of TVs lined the wall. At

10:59

around 10 p.m. the band began to play. Corey

11:02

wore camouflage pants, black and white

11:04

tennis shoes and a t-shirt complete

11:06

with the Future President's logo. Some

11:09

members of the audience were people Corey and his

11:12

bandmates had met while on tour in the Midwest.

11:15

They were from Ohio and when Future

11:17

Presidents took a break from playing, Corey

11:19

chatted them up as he often did

11:22

with friends and acquaintances during play breaks.

11:25

The band also ate sandwiches and fries

11:27

during the break and Matthew Giles-Hunsberger, who

11:30

was sitting in for an absent bandmate, shared

11:32

a joint with Corey during that time as

11:34

well. About 30

11:37

people watched while the group performed 16 songs, 14

11:41

of which were originals. At

11:43

about 1 a.m. the show was slated to

11:45

end, but they kept playing on

11:47

a bit longer. One

11:50

of the songs on the set list was called

11:52

Nada, which a band member called an ode to

11:54

quote, people Who have been

11:57

unnecessarily shot down by their own

11:59

police. The

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it so I need to get something

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while your subscription is active. When

15:09

it was time to leave, Corey loaded

15:11

up his drum set into his Hyundai

15:13

and headed southbound on the I-95, but

15:16

he noticed something was wrong with the

15:18

SUV, so he exited onto the PGA

15:20

Boulevard off-ramp. Once

15:23

pulled over on the shoulder of the off-ramp, the

15:25

Hyundai was parked near the grass off the northern

15:27

side of the road. The

15:29

grassy area was bordered by shrubbery

15:31

and some trees shrouding the DoubleTree

15:33

Hotel parking lot, which

15:35

was within shouting distance from Corey's

15:37

vehicle. At

15:40

about 1.30 a.m., Corey called Matthew

15:42

Giles Huntsberger, who had been filling

15:44

in that night as the bass player of

15:46

future presidents. By

15:48

that time, Huntsberger was already at home and

15:50

in bed. He lived

15:52

about 15 minutes away from Jupiter and told

15:55

Corey he'd go to his location

15:57

to try to troubleshoot the vehicle issues. Corey

16:00

also called the Florida Highway Patrol at 1.44

16:03

a.m. for help, and a road

16:05

ranger drove to the off ramp. When

16:08

Matthew arrived, the pair thought the car might

16:10

need more oil, so he drove to a

16:12

nearby Shell gas station. After

16:15

purchasing the oil, he headed to the DoubleTree

16:17

Hotel parking lot so that he

16:19

could get to Corey's car more easily. By

16:22

then, the road ranger from the Florida

16:24

Department of Transportation had also arrived. So

16:27

you saw Corey

16:29

Jones' interaction with the road ranger? Yeah,

16:31

I was on the other side of the fence by the...

16:36

Because once again, once you go to the store, you can't

16:38

get back to where he's at, so I had to just

16:40

park over by the hotel at that point. Yeah,

16:43

I heard him talking to him roughly. It was

16:45

like maybe 40 feet

16:47

away or something like that. So you could

16:50

hear Corey Jones speaking with the road ranger about the car?

16:52

Yeah, they basically... He pretty

16:54

much needed a tow, and the road ranger said

16:56

he's not able to help him towing, and they

16:58

were looking around to see if there's anything they

17:01

could fix, and determine

17:03

that he needed a tow at that point,

17:05

because there was really nothing else we could

17:07

do. At 2.41 a.m.,

17:09

the road ranger left, and Corey told

17:12

Matthew he didn't need to stick around

17:14

and that he didn't want to ride with him because

17:16

he wanted to stay with his drum kit. He

17:19

said he didn't want it to be stolen. Matthew

17:22

then left the scene at about 2.45 a.m. Corey

17:26

also made many calls to the AT&T

17:28

roadside service. The first

17:30

call was at 2.09 a.m., however, nobody

17:33

answered. He called three

17:35

more times and still no answer. At

17:39

2.45 he called again, and it

17:41

was recorded. He waited on

17:43

the line for about 26 minutes. While

17:46

waiting, he made a two-way call to his brother CJ

17:48

at 2.52 a.m. He

17:51

didn't know what

17:53

the problem was. And

17:55

did you offer assistance to him, sir? Yeah,

17:57

I offered assistance to come get him. He

18:01

said he couldn't leave the drums. Just

18:04

pause there. Next question. And

18:08

were you aware that he had

18:10

been having some problems with his

18:12

SUV prior to that, sir? Yeah,

18:15

me personally, I think it was his gas. I

18:17

think it was his gas. I don't know anything

18:19

about his oil, but I know his gas meter

18:22

level was

18:24

playing around with him. And

18:27

to your knowledge, I know you said you offered to

18:29

pick him up. Just

18:32

yes or no. Were you aware that he had a

18:36

place to play his drums at that Sunday morning?

18:38

Yeah, he was going to play. And

18:41

did you offer to provide him with a tow

18:44

truck? Yeah, I gave him the number to a

18:46

Palm Beach toy, but he was pretty

18:48

much on the phone already. OK,

18:50

and was he on the phone with a different

18:53

service to get a tow truck, do you know? Yes. Finally,

18:56

at around 3.12 AM, someone answered

18:59

at the AT&T Roadside Service Call

19:01

Center. The call started

19:03

out like most of this kind do. The

19:06

operator asked Corey some general questions, and

19:08

he began to answer them. Also,

19:11

as nearly every call center does,

19:13

AT&T was recording that phone call.

19:16

And it's a good thing they were. On

19:30

Saturday evening, another man prepared for

19:32

his long night. Yet,

19:34

unlike Corey's fun plans to jam with

19:36

this band, this man started

19:38

his work shift as a Palm Beach

19:40

Gardens police officer. The

19:43

38-year-old was a man named Newman Raja.

19:47

About a half hour after Corey Jones woke up from his

19:49

nap at his brother's house, Officer

19:51

Raja started out his night in a patrol

19:53

car. Yes, later on

19:56

that evening, his assignment changed to

19:58

what is called a plainclothes At

20:01

the time, he switched from a police patrol

20:04

car and all of its police insignia to

20:06

a white Ford cargo van without any

20:09

markings. Additionally, Officer

20:11

Raja changed into jeans and a

20:13

tan t-shirt. He also put

20:15

on a red baseball cap with

20:17

stitching that spelled out CAT, which

20:20

was representative of Caterpillar Incorporated, a

20:22

construction equipment company. Officer

20:25

Raja's plainclothes investigation involved stolen

20:27

cars and Palm Beach Gardens.

20:31

Officer Raja was new at his position

20:33

and was still on probationary status within

20:35

the department since he'd only been

20:37

hired there less than three months before. Before

20:41

he drove off, his supervisor told him to put

20:43

on a tactical vest with the police markings on

20:45

it and also told him to

20:47

identify himself as a police officer

20:49

while conducting his work for safety

20:51

reasons. That

20:54

night, he'd spend time driving around

20:56

hotel parking lots surveilling activities. But

20:59

when a radio call went out, Officer Raja

21:01

headed to a nightclub to respond. At

21:04

approximately 3 a.m., he was driving

21:06

on Interstate 95 when

21:08

he spotted Corey's broken-down Hyundai.

21:11

Do you recognize that van, sir? I

21:14

do. And is that the same

21:16

van that you're talking about that would be

21:18

utilized in this plainclothes

21:20

burglary detail in October of 2015?

21:23

Yes, sir. And looking

21:25

at this white van, does

21:28

it intentionally not have any insignia

21:30

whatsoever of being a law enforcement

21:32

vehicle? If you

21:34

could just rephrase it, I'm sorry. Does it have

21:36

any indication whatsoever it's a law enforcement

21:38

vehicle? No, sir. Is that

21:40

intentional? To be

21:43

honest with you, I don't know anything about the fleet,

21:45

so I couldn't really answer that how intentional that was.

21:47

Is it necessary not to be identifiable as a law

21:49

enforcement vehicle in order to

21:52

accomplish the goals of this plainclothes

21:54

detail? Yes. So

21:57

there's no police lights on it? Correct.

22:01

No big badge that says Palm

22:03

Beach Gardens Police Department? Correct. No

22:06

antenna sticking out of multiple places on

22:08

it? Correct. And

22:11

did the defendant take part specifically

22:13

in this detail? Yes.

22:17

Officer Raja had worked about seven and a

22:19

half years in law enforcement. He

22:21

was also certified as an emergency

22:24

vehicle operations instructor and as a

22:26

firearms instructor. He

22:28

also had about 800 hours of teaching under

22:30

his belt at the College

22:32

Criminal Justice Institute. Needless

22:34

to say, he was well versed in

22:37

the direction and tactful process of approaching

22:39

a car when making a traffic stop.

22:43

When he saw Corey's SUV stalled out on

22:45

the off-ramp, he believed it was an

22:47

abandoned vehicle left on the side of the

22:49

road. So he called over

22:51

the radio to note he was approaching the

22:53

vehicle and drove the wrong way

22:55

northbound up the off-ramp where Corey,

22:57

his expensive drum kit and his

23:00

SUV sat. Corey

23:02

was still on that phone call with the

23:04

AT&T roadside services officer at the time. He

23:07

also had his legally owned firearm he'd

23:09

recently purchased inside of that vehicle as

23:11

well. Officer

23:14

Raja pulled in a perpendicular manner a couple of feet

23:16

in front of the Hyundai, which in

23:18

itself was against police protocol. The

23:21

parked vehicle obscured a part of the roadway

23:24

and if Corey's Hyundai had been

23:26

in driving condition, he would not have

23:28

been able to drive forward using the road since

23:30

the van now blocked the roadway. He

23:33

would have had to drive off the shoulder of the

23:35

road to go the correct way southbound on the ramp

23:38

or he would have needed to back up

23:40

and do a U-turn or a three-point turn

23:42

to drive away from the officer's vehicle, therefore

23:44

heading the wrong way down the off-ramp. Officer

23:48

Raja did not put on his police-issued

23:50

tactical vest, nor did he place a

23:52

police badge around his neck as advised.

23:56

The radio remained inside the car as

23:58

well, and at the time he looked like he was in the an

24:00

everyday civilian wearing casual clothing

24:02

and a construction equipment hat

24:05

who had recklessly driven up and off-ramp the

24:07

wrong way. While

24:09

Corey Jones continued answering preliminary questions

24:11

that were recorded on the AT&T

24:14

call, there were no out of

24:16

the ordinary sounds in the background. At

24:18

least not yet. Thank you

24:20

for calling AT&T Roadside Assistance.

24:23

This is Maddie. May

24:25

I have your mobile number to better assist you? I'll

24:32

take any one moment to pull up the account. And

24:38

what's the name on it? Corey

24:41

Jones. Corey. Yeah,

24:44

I see Delray, Delray, Beach House. Yes.

24:46

All righty. And what can I do for you

24:49

tonight? I need to get a tow. I'm

24:51

going to throw it down. And is this a mobile number with the vehicle? Yes.

24:54

Okay. What's wrong with the vehicle? It

24:56

won't start. This episode is proudly brought to

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you by Liquid I.V. Ah, summer

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25:07

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25:10

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25:13

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25:16

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nasal congestion runny nose sneezing and is he knows due

28:12

to. Before

28:24

becoming a Police officer, Newman Roger

28:26

dabbled in multiple jobs. Once.

28:29

He graduated high school. He went on to

28:31

John Jay College of Criminal Justice. And.

28:33

Ninety Ninety Nine to Two Thousand and

28:35

Three Only be didn't finish his degree.

28:39

He worked as a security systems installer

28:41

and also for a motorcycle shop. At

28:44

some point he opened to small

28:46

businesses where he encountered financial issues.

28:48

And the Iris requested ten thousand

28:51

dollars in back taxes. Foreclosure.

28:54

Also, loon that a condo he had

28:56

recently purchased. Get his

28:58

last day of employment prior to becoming

29:00

a police officer was at a Juicy

29:02

Loop. When. Two thousand and seven.

29:04

He stopped working there. In order

29:06

to focus on studying. He.

29:08

Began attending classes at the Palm Beach

29:11

Community College Police Academy. In.

29:13

Two thousand and Eight Newman Roger was hired

29:15

as soon after graduating from the Academy. We.

29:18

Started his first job as a police officer.

29:21

At the Atlanta Police Department, which

29:23

was a smaller department located in

29:25

Southern Florida that the population a

29:27

little less than two thousand. He.

29:30

Worked there for around seven years and

29:32

by two thousand and ten. He.

29:34

Was able to purchase a twenty six hundred

29:36

square foot home for himself and his family.

29:39

He. Was also promoted to Sergeant

29:41

because his annual performance reviews were

29:43

solid. Yet. He was

29:46

also known to occasionally go

29:48

against police policies. norman rasa

29:50

worms at the atlanta police department for

29:52

six years we've got in our hands

29:54

on sixteen different complaints of excessive force

29:56

made against sense to fill the atlanta

29:59

police he says Raja was a good

30:01

officer. The use of force report

30:03

rarely involves just him. There's generally two to

30:05

three officers involved in that report, so it's

30:07

not just Raja

30:09

exclusively. Many of the complaints involved

30:11

the use of a taser, armbar, or even

30:13

punching two aggressive women in the face that

30:16

were Baker acted at JFK. Chief

30:18

Mangold says in every case, the use

30:20

of force was founded. Thankfully everybody has

30:22

their own opinion. I'll be happy to provide use

30:24

of force reports to you, and beyond that, I

30:27

don't have any comment. There were

30:29

also three disciplinary reports in his

30:31

file for repeatedly mishandling evidence and

30:33

paperwork, and not following policy during

30:35

a vehicle pursuit. Yet Raja left

30:37

Atlantis with a mark of approval.

30:40

With my understanding, he wanted to go to a larger department.

30:42

He had reached the top that he could possibly reach here.

30:45

We're also learning Raja did have a

30:47

disorderly conduct charged as a juvenile for

30:49

a prank he did while in high

30:51

school. We also learned that he had

30:53

actually applied to four other agencies before

30:55

starting at Atlantis. While

30:57

Corey was on the phone with AT&T, not

31:00

only were his drums inside the car, he

31:02

also had his gun with him that he'd purchased on October

31:04

15th of 2015, just

31:07

two days before his Saturday night gig at the

31:09

Tiki Bear. Corey's job

31:11

as a housing inspector for Delray Beach took

31:14

him to many neighborhoods. Some

31:16

were good, but some were also a little rough.

31:19

He also played shows late into the evening

31:21

and often into the early morning hours, and

31:23

he thought the gun would offer some good

31:25

protection. The .380

31:27

caliber weapon was legally purchased and he held

31:30

a concealed weapons permit that was valid at

31:32

the time as well. It's

31:34

not clear if the gun was an ambidextrous

31:37

model or a model made for a left-handed

31:39

person, but if you

31:41

recall, Corey Jones was definitely

31:43

left-handed. As

31:55

Corey spoke with Madeline Tolliver, who

31:57

was the AT&T dispatcher, someone

31:59

approached... vehicle and that around the

32:01

very same time, Corey

32:03

stopped answering Madeline's questions. Ms.

32:06

Tollemer. Yes. And we left off

32:09

with you telling

32:11

us that you

32:14

had asked Corey

32:16

Jones a question and you didn't

32:18

receive an answer. Yes, ma'am. Now,

32:23

when you didn't receive the answer to your

32:25

question, did you then start to hear some

32:28

of the commotion in the background? Yes.

32:32

After, do you want me to explain what I heard? Okay.

32:35

After I didn't receive an answer, I

32:38

heard the pinging of the vehicle as if the

32:40

door had been opened and the keys had been

32:42

left in the ignition. And then

32:45

I heard yelling and gunshots

32:50

and then yelling and

32:52

more gunshots. For approximately two

32:54

minutes at the beginning of the call, there

32:56

were no door chimes ringing or anyone

32:58

yelling. When Officer Raja

33:01

approached Corey Jones's vehicle, he

33:03

didn't introduce himself as a police

33:05

officer. And without his vest

33:07

on or any attire that presented as

33:09

a police uniform, the plainclothes

33:12

stranger's approach might have startled

33:14

anyone. Yet Corey seemed calm.

33:18

After around two minutes of general questions with

33:20

the roadside service, a dinging

33:22

sound rings out as Corey has opened his

33:24

car door after the stranger and the construction

33:27

had approaches. The keys

33:29

are still in the ignition while the door

33:31

chimes continue. After about 10

33:33

seconds or so there are voices. Once

33:36

Officer Raja approaches, he does not

33:38

identify himself as police, but

33:40

he does mumble something. Then Corey

33:43

responds. Within seconds,

33:45

the interaction escalates. Two

33:48

times Corey tells the officer on

33:50

the recording that he's quote, good,

33:52

yet Officer Raja persists. And

33:54

then he yells at Corey to put his hands up

33:56

while his gun is pointed at him. In

33:59

response, Corey grabs his own firearm, only

34:01

the safety is still on. The

34:04

gun's magazine was loaded with six rounds,

34:06

but the chamber of the firearm was

34:08

empty. Corey then

34:10

abruptly flees north on foot, heading toward

34:13

a lone tree. He runs

34:15

away from his car and runs away from

34:17

Officer Raja in the unmarked van. While

34:20

running with his back to Officer Raja, Corey drops

34:22

his gun near the left side of his Hyundai

34:24

near its rear tire. He

34:26

doesn't fire his weapon once before the gun

34:29

is tossed, but as he runs

34:31

away from the vehicle, Raja fires

34:33

three rapid shots at Jones. Then

34:36

ten seconds pass and the officer fires

34:38

another three shots. The

34:41

entirety of those six shots fired,

34:43

from the first through the last,

34:45

takes merely thirteen seconds. After

34:48

Officer's on scene, located Corey collapsed alongside

34:50

the roadway. He takes care of his

34:52

body to ensure he isn't in possession

34:54

of another firearm, and a

34:57

short while later, he's pronounced dead on

34:59

scene. The

35:09

autopsy report revealed that Corey Jones had been

35:11

shot in the right upper arm and another

35:13

bullet went through his left forearm. A

35:16

third bullet braised his left elbow. But

35:19

the shot that killed Jones was a bullet that went

35:21

through the right part of his chest, hitting

35:23

some of his ribs and fatally damaging his

35:25

heart and pulmonary artery. Corey's

35:29

black t-shirt that had his band name scrawled

35:31

across the front was stained with blood amidst

35:33

the white lettering that read, Future.

35:37

The coroner subsequently ruled the death as

35:39

a homicide. The

35:41

autopsy report also diagrammed the trajectory of

35:43

the bullets and how they entered and

35:45

exited at Corey Jones's body. Initially,

35:50

the results indicated that the bullets entered Corey

35:52

from a trajectory toward his back, consistent

35:54

with wounds of a person who was running

35:56

away from the gunman. The

35:59

bullet that blasted into Corey's heart and lungs

36:01

entered from the front right of Corey's chest.

36:04

With such damage, a person could move

36:06

still but only for a short

36:09

distance before either fainting or collapsing

36:11

from such a sudden drop in blood pressure. Therefore,

36:14

running as much as 123 feet was not a real possibility.

36:20

Yet Corey's gun was later found by

36:22

investigators about 123 feet away from where Corey

36:24

dropped it.

36:28

Investigators also measured the closest part of his body

36:30

to the distance from where the gun was dropped.

36:34

The autopsy findings differed greatly from

36:36

what Officer Raja told investigators shortly

36:39

after the shooting occurred during his walk-through

36:41

interview later on that morning. What

36:44

happens when that sudden drop happens? When

36:48

you have a sudden drop of blood pressure you

36:51

start fainting immediately. You

36:55

become dizzy when

36:59

you have a sudden drop in blood

37:02

pressure. You become

37:04

dizzy, you experience fainting and you

37:06

eventually pass down. So

37:12

if a person,

37:15

Corey Jones, was

37:18

this injury to

37:20

his heart, is

37:24

he going to be able to travel

37:29

1,123 feet after sustaining

37:32

a gunshot wound to his heart that's

37:35

basically been blown apart? When

37:41

Officer Raja approached Corey's Hyundai, not only

37:43

did he leave his police-issued vest in

37:45

his badge behind, he also

37:48

left his police radio inside the van on

37:50

the floor mat. About

37:52

33 seconds after Officer Raja fired the

37:55

last three shots, he did

37:57

not use his radio, which was protocol.

38:00

Instead, since the radio was still in the van,

38:02

he called 911 with his personal cell phone.

38:07

There was one more thing the officer did not

38:09

have with him when he killed Corey Jones. It

38:12

was his police-issued firearm that he was supposed

38:14

to have on him in his holster. Instead

38:17

he used his backup gun which was approved

38:19

by his department, only it was not supposed

38:21

to be the primary firearm used while he

38:23

was on duty. That

38:26

backup gun was the one that killed

38:28

Corey Jones. The

38:31

Double Tree Hotel was very near where the shooting

38:33

took place, and two people who

38:35

had been staying there heard the sequence of gunshots

38:37

ring out. Three

38:39

shots firing, a brief pause, and then

38:41

three more. One

38:44

of those people went out onto the hotel room

38:46

balcony after hearing the shots ring out. The

38:48

witness saw a man holding a gun walking backwards

38:51

with a cell phone in his hand. He

38:54

noted that the man seemed to be a good distance

38:56

away from the Hyundai. She also

38:58

saw Corey's dead body there in the grass.

39:01

She said that the person with the gun had

39:03

been aiming in the direction where Corey dropped to

39:05

the ground. She identified the

39:08

man as wearing dark pants, a shirt,

39:10

and a hat, but she

39:12

couldn't recall any distinct markings that would have

39:14

identified the man as a police officer. When

39:18

Officer Roger called 911, it was

39:20

recorded just like that AT&T service

39:22

call that was recorded earlier. However,

39:25

the descriptions the officer relayed after Corey

39:28

was already dead didn't align with the

39:30

real-time call recorded by AT&T roadside

39:33

assistants. I'm

39:37

at the fucking gun right now! This

39:43

is Garden's Alpha One. I just got one

39:45

down. I just shot one person. I'm at that off-ramp right behind Double

39:47

Tree. Black man. I'm at the front of the

39:49

building. I'm at the front of the building. I'm at the front of

39:51

the building. I'm at the front of the building. Black male. You're

39:54

behind the Double Tree? I'm

39:56

on the off-ramp. 95 South on off-ramp. Off The Double

39:58

Tree. I'm not covered

40:01

in early. The great know. That

40:05

be submitted pick out one down. I got one

40:07

more. don't support know but I. Am

40:10

in a bit of good. On

40:12

ya flamboyant. Or

40:15

daughter get me some units. A lot of success

40:17

with the maternal years. Ah, you got a buddy!

40:21

Where's your way to allows? My

40:23

videos of the ban right not aware

40:25

that wouldn't have that's over the phone.

40:27

I'd say on a somebody will be

40:29

a little guy looks like on. Walk

40:33

know when all black grab had a

40:35

silver hair done and as right said.

40:40

I came out us on come out with

40:43

gonna give commands identify myself as a third

40:45

quarter the gonna be so running i saw

40:47

them. Are

40:51

lost contact with when you're on. The

40:53

other attributes died. In

40:57

your portfolio of Aqaba room you.

41:02

Know yet? Exit

41:04

around now. I'd

41:08

say only Sunday it up to

41:10

two weeks Six Papa Romeo Hotel.

41:13

Yes, The baskets gonna

41:16

back on us food or hunt a grave. Yesterday

41:19

Subtly worse, it's not

41:21

stolen or any. Arguments

41:24

or it's they on a song. Where's the

41:27

Me? An idea? Where's your van at an

41:29

adult? A lot. Riding

41:32

on the offer sooner Than racism

41:34

or. More than.

41:38

That at least three to four. Sigma

41:42

Thirty I read a radio on our

41:45

hotel. Not only. Units,

41:48

it's com. The. Nine One

41:50

One call at place about thirty three

41:52

seconds as to the officer Cyrus. When.

41:55

Roger yells over the phone for Corey to drop

41:57

the gun. the gun has already been

42:00

dropped some time before. In

42:02

fact, it had been dropped at 123 feet

42:04

away from where Corey now lay in the

42:06

grass with a gunshot wound through his heart.

42:10

Corey was not able to point his

42:12

gun at anything since he was already

42:14

down and completely incapacitated. Raja

42:16

also explained that the gun had been pointed at him

42:19

by a person who held it in his right hand.

42:22

The six shots had already been recorded

42:24

on that AT&T call. After

42:26

there was no way Raja needed to be yelling,

42:29

drop the gun during the later 911 call.

42:33

The gun was left in the grass a good

42:35

distance from Corey's body. Yet

42:37

in the call, Officer Raja also said

42:39

that he'd quote, lost contact with a

42:41

person he'd shot. Yet

42:43

Corey was right there in plain sight with

42:46

multiple bullet wounds there in the grass. The

42:49

first person to arrive at the scene was the

42:51

Sergeant on duty. Corey

42:53

noticed Officer Raja standing by his van and

42:55

the hood of the Hyundai. Officer

42:58

Raja recounted that Corey had a silver

43:00

gun and that he'd told him to

43:02

drop it. Then he said he

43:04

saw the victim run north and throw the gun around

43:06

20 feet from the back of the vehicle. Other

43:10

officers arrived soon after and with the

43:12

help of flashlights, they found Corey

43:14

Jones who was lying face down with his

43:16

arms beneath the girth of his body at

43:19

about 3.25 a.m. Corey's

43:22

body was around 192 feet from the north side of his

43:24

Hyundai. His

43:27

head was facing the direction of the DoubleTree

43:29

Hotel. When they rolled

43:31

Corey over to check if there were any more firearms,

43:34

Corey was pronounced dead at 3.32 a.m. In

43:39

order to find Corey's gun, the officers called

43:41

in for a canine unit. The

43:43

senior Sergeant deferred to what Officer Raja

43:46

had told him and therefore

43:48

believed that that gun was somewhere near

43:50

the vehicle, only it wasn't.

43:53

Instead, they found it some 72 feet

43:55

from the rear of the Hyundai. None

43:58

of it made any sense. At least

44:00

not yet. At

44:11

about 7.50 a.m. Sunday morning, Officer

44:14

Roger met with investigators to retrace

44:16

the shooting as he remembered it.

44:19

His retelling of events differed significantly

44:21

from the real-time recording captured by

44:23

AT&T Roadside Service. In

44:26

Roger's rendition of events, he

44:28

claimed that he identified himself to Jones

44:31

as police, yet the real-time

44:33

recording did not capture any such

44:35

disclosure. If I knew the vehicle

44:37

was occupied, I would never pull myself in a fatal funnel situation

44:39

like this by pulling in front of it. I

44:43

didn't think there was anybody in there. As I

44:45

got close to the vehicle, the

44:48

door swung open and this

44:51

guy jumped up and I immediately got out of the van. He

44:53

was like, I'm okay, I'm okay, man. At such

44:55

point, I said, hey man, police, can I help

44:57

you? At second I said police, he jumped back

45:00

and I clearly remember him

45:02

drawing and pointing a gun

45:04

at me. I saw that silver muzzle and he

45:06

had, I can swear on this, he had a

45:08

laser-max laser in the guy brought in the gun

45:10

and I saw that red light of that laser-max

45:13

flashing at me and I immediately just

45:15

shouted, drop the gun and... Take a deep

45:17

breath. Let's do this. Do you need

45:19

a drink? No, no, no. I'll be sure.

45:22

What's your, what's your deal? Officer

45:29

Raja, now surrounded by members of the

45:31

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department's Incident Command

45:34

Unit in the light of day, takes

45:36

a group of investigators over to the front

45:38

of the white unmarked police van, which

45:41

still sits parked facing the wrong way

45:43

on the interstate off-ramp. I

45:45

immediately jumped up and I came right here and at

45:47

that point I didn't have

45:49

what I had on me, the only thing I

45:52

had on me, because I was in pain, like

45:54

my gun was still in time, my duty gun,

45:56

my vest was inside and the only thing I

45:58

had was my backup gun. department

46:00

approved backup on and a waistband

46:02

holster inside with a shirt tucked in like this and

46:04

I immediately said hey man police can I help you

46:07

and at which point that's when he's jumped back and

46:09

I saw him draw the gun right at me right

46:11

after I said the word police and I was like

46:13

fuck and it was just I kind

46:15

of got like caught with my pants down and

46:18

it just immediately

46:21

it's like your

46:24

family flashed and probably your kids flashed and we

46:26

were just like fuck and immediately I drew the

46:28

gun and I was like drop the gun drop

46:30

the gun and he didn't he was right there

46:33

and I remember pointing the trigger I think

46:35

two to three times and

46:37

he started running and as he was

46:40

running I had my cell phone and I dialed

46:42

and I remember putting my coat in and just

46:44

like this I had gone and I'm keeping an

46:46

eye on this guy and I put my coat

46:48

in dialed 911 and I called dispatch right my

46:50

radio was banned and

46:53

the whole time I'm like giving him commands I'm

46:55

yelling screaming I'm like drop the gun drop the

46:57

gun and as he's running he gets

46:59

him out like right just a little path where

47:02

the guardrails are and he's he

47:04

does this number and I see his whole body

47:06

spin and I saw like a flash a silver

47:08

flash of like a metallic flash come at me

47:11

and in my head I immediately fucking

47:13

said aim aim and I was like

47:15

game and I was like and I just picked that front

47:17

side right in the center of Madison during

47:20

the walkthrough officer Raja also

47:22

told investigators repeatedly that

47:24

Corey Jones pointed to his gun at him and

47:26

tried to show them how that might have happened

47:29

during his version of events but

47:31

the possibility of Jones aiming at officer

47:33

Raja as he told the

47:35

story didn't follow in relation to Corey's

47:38

gun location or where his

47:40

body was inevitably found and how officer

47:42

Raja explained his proximity was to Corey

47:45

during his retelling of events none

47:47

of it made any sense at least

47:49

according to the evidence just

47:52

where the ditches right there in front of it kind of

47:54

like he was in that area and that's when he did

47:56

the spin and I was like dropping and dropping and I

47:58

saw him go like this And

48:01

I remember saying to myself, Aim!

48:03

I still remember. And I was like, Aim! And

48:05

I put that front sight right in the center

48:08

mast and I squeezed him. I

48:10

think I believe two rounds. Okay. And

48:12

I saw him drop at which point. And

48:15

when he dropped and everything and I started going up and

48:17

I couldn't see him. And I was like, I lost sight

48:19

of him, I lost sight of him. And they're like, don't

48:21

get your radio, go get your radio. And I started to

48:23

go and I was like, just paddling the mast and everything.

48:26

Roger later claimed that he believed Corey Jones

48:28

had a red laser sight on his handgun

48:30

and that it was trained on him at

48:32

the time of their interaction. Such

48:35

an event might cause one to react. However,

48:37

Corey's gun didn't have a red laser.

48:40

And so Officer Roger's inference that the

48:42

red light could have been an additional

48:44

cause for his concern and

48:46

protecting his own life was simply not

48:48

accurate. After

48:50

a thorough investigation, detectives found that there

48:53

was a 6.3 second time lapse between

48:56

the time Officer Roger first spoke to

48:58

Corey Jones and when

49:00

Corey responded. This evidence coming

49:02

from a comparison of the

49:04

real time recording from AT&T and

49:07

Officer Roger story about the events during

49:09

his 911 call. They

49:12

found that Officer Roger did not

49:14

as he claimed identify himself repeatedly

49:16

as police upon their initial interaction.

49:19

In fact, he never identified himself as

49:21

a police officer a single

49:24

time. Then the six shots

49:26

had also been recorded on that

49:28

AT&T phone call. The first

49:30

three of which were fired in rapid succession.

49:33

After those shots, the latter three shots

49:35

had a longer delay. Since

49:38

the shots had been recorded and since Officer

49:40

Roger said that he was on the call

49:42

with 911 around the same time the victim

49:45

was supposedly still active and alive. The

49:48

10 or so seconds between the

49:50

volleys created a timestamp in comparison

49:52

to that original AT&T call. Officer

49:55

Roger told investigators that he

49:57

had been on the 911 call during the shoot. However,

50:00

analysts found that the actual call Roger made

50:03

to 911 happened 33 seconds after

50:07

he fired his last shot, a

50:09

shot which again had been recorded by

50:11

AT&T. He

50:14

was lying, and Corey Jones's patience and

50:17

waiting on hold on that recorded AT&T

50:19

service line proved it. The

50:35

November of 2015 Newman Roger was fired

50:37

from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Force,

50:40

and on June 1, 2016, he was

50:42

charged by the state of Florida

50:44

for manslaughter by culpable negligence, and

50:46

for attempted first-degree murder with

50:49

a firearm. During

50:51

his time awaiting trial, Roger was placed on

50:53

house arrest after serving some time in jail.

50:57

He made a $250,000 bond and was released. The

51:01

bond agreement stipulated that he wear a

51:03

GPS tracking device. However, he was

51:05

allowed to attend church and to drop his

51:07

children off at school. Additionally,

51:10

after being fired as a police officer, he

51:12

was able to work and pay bills, because

51:15

in addition to being able to leave his home,

51:17

he gained employment at a business

51:19

called Tactical Products Group, LLC, ironically

51:22

a business which supplied tactical

51:24

gear to law enforcement agencies.

51:28

He fell into debt while awaiting his trial,

51:30

but his legal team and their services were

51:32

free of charge because his

51:34

union paid for the fees through his collective

51:36

bargaining agreement. After

51:39

the shooting, Corey Jones's family,

51:41

coworkers, and friends continued asking

51:44

questions and were persistent with

51:46

their presence in the media. Corey's

51:49

life not only inspired the Florida community

51:51

broadly, this tragic death

51:53

also inspired discussions about police

51:56

brutality and spurred several protests

51:58

against it. He respected

52:01

everyone. Everyone. I

52:05

can't imagine what could have happened

52:08

that would cause the police

52:10

officer to be threatened by

52:12

Corey. Corey was not a threat

52:14

to anybody. We need to find out what

52:16

happened. We want to know what happened to

52:18

Corey. We've lost a very good,

52:20

good soul, a wonderful human

52:23

being. I don't know that anybody can come

52:25

up with anything bad to say about Corey.

52:29

On Saturday, October 31, 2015, over 1,000 people attended

52:34

Corey Jones' funeral, as

52:36

the Reverend Al Sharpton provided the

52:38

eulogy, among others. And

52:40

the beauty and majesty of

52:42

Corey is that blacks

52:45

and whites and everybody's in here

52:47

together. And we're going to

52:49

leave here together. And we're

52:51

going to stand together. As

52:54

we bury Corey, we will not

52:56

bury Sharpton. Initially,

53:30

Newman-Rajah's trial was set to begin in October

53:32

of 2017, but

53:35

there were multiple delays. The

53:38

last delay happened because Rajah's legal

53:40

team filed the appellate court with

53:42

a 52-page document expressing a need

53:44

for Rajah's immunity under the

53:47

Stand Your Ground law. In

53:49

response to that request, a judge found

53:51

that Officer Rajah had his gun drawn

53:53

upon his initial approach to Corey Jones'

53:55

vehicle, and that his actions

53:57

indeed, quote, created circumstances.

54:00

that caused Corey's death. The

54:03

trial finally began on February 26th, 2019. And

54:07

after eight days of the jury hearing

54:10

testimony from the defense, the prosecutors, and

54:12

several experts and witnesses, Newman-Rajah

54:14

was found guilty of manslaughter.

54:18

Corey's brother CJ responded to the jury's

54:20

guilty verdict outside of the courtroom that

54:22

afternoon. It was very difficult

54:24

because on the coming to the

54:27

case, after the trial, we've

54:29

seen a lot more information and a lot more

54:31

photos and stuff that we haven't seen, the

54:34

state was holding back on for

54:36

evidence. To get a

54:38

lot of that stuff this

54:40

week is definitely overwhelming. And

54:46

it was good for me to see, to get

54:48

over. I needed to see

54:50

my brother there. I needed to see exactly what

54:52

he's saying that he did. And

54:54

I needed to see that for me to have some peace. I've

54:57

seen that and I'll be able to grieve

55:00

over it and get over what I

55:02

saw. There was

55:04

a lot of information that was released

55:07

in the trial itself that we weren't privy

55:10

to as well. Your father,

55:12

there's several times shots of him of

55:14

the emotion on his face, hard

55:17

to bear, like he was scaring the entire world on

55:20

his shoulders. How's he doing and

55:22

the rest of the family? You know, at

55:24

that time, this was real hard for my

55:26

dad. He had lost his mom a week

55:28

before. And then he had to

55:30

come bear his son the week after.

55:33

So it was a lot planned on him. We

55:36

never really got to grieve. I mean, we're probably

55:38

gonna get to grieve like Corey just died yesterday,

55:40

probably today. Because it

55:42

was so much of mixed emotions and so

55:44

much things that it was happening so fast

55:48

when that first happened. And today probably

55:50

will be, you know, throughout the week, it'll probably be

55:52

a time that we can reflect over, you know

55:54

what I mean, over this time that we've been waiting for.

55:58

How many voices spoke out about... race

56:00

being a central component of the

56:02

injustice that caused Corey's death by

56:04

a police officer, Clinton

56:06

Jones Sr., his father, spoke

56:09

the following words outside of the courthouse after

56:11

the guilty verdict was handed over. Thank

56:14

God that they listened. Thank God

56:16

that they was Kenneth. Thank God that

56:18

they was focused

56:22

and they persevered through the process.

56:25

And this

56:28

wasn't nothing about race.

56:31

This was about justice.

56:33

This was about the truth. And

56:36

the truth caught up with

56:38

him. On April 25, 2019, the

56:40

former police officer was sentenced to

56:45

25 years in prison for killing

56:47

Corey Jones. Roger

56:49

was the first police officer in 30 years to

56:52

get a prison sentence for an officer involved a

56:54

line of duty shooting in the state of Florida.

56:57

Yet he and his attorneys appealed his

56:59

manslaughter conviction and sentence soon after he

57:02

was sent to prison. They

57:04

claimed that prior to trial, key

57:07

facts were mishandled and laws were

57:09

not applied or interpreted correctly. That

57:12

appeal was denied on April 28, 2021 by the state

57:14

of Florida. Newman

57:18

Roger no longer served and protected

57:20

in a police uniform. Instead,

57:23

he was sent to live his

57:25

days incarcerated while wearing a standard

57:27

prison issued uniform under strict supervision.

57:31

He was sentenced when he was 41 years

57:33

old, and his release is scheduled for the

57:35

year 2044. By

57:38

then he'll be in his early 60s

57:40

and his two young children will

57:42

be adults. So

58:00

it was like we became like the tired

58:02

rhythm section buddies and for the next several

58:04

years We kept pulling each other in

58:06

and out of every project we got in until something

58:09

stuff And unfortunately just gotten

58:11

in future presents for a few months if

58:13

everything went south I have

58:15

so many memories of Cory, but the biggest deal

58:17

is it was just as contagious laughter man The

58:19

dude was always smiling and laughing. It was

58:21

just like the epitome of a good

58:23

time like everybody when we went out New

58:27

Cory if they didn't know they're about to know because

58:29

you want to talk to everybody and be their best friend

58:32

I was actually a work to man like

58:34

I've been watching the trial non-stop, you know

58:36

online like every day at work I've been

58:38

cracking it so like today I saw

58:40

it and it was just like It

58:42

was like a gigantic weight was lifted off my shoulders

58:44

because like I was just so happy that Everyone

58:47

finally had a little bit of closure and

58:49

some justices filed being served Did

58:51

you expect any different from the verdict? No,

58:53

I didn't like everyone always worries that

58:55

it's not gonna be what you hope it is but like The

58:58

the facts in the case were so like so

59:01

solid. There's such a good case to give some that just I

59:04

Couldn't see how the jury couldn't reach any other verdict

59:06

comes extremely late it and I'm so happy for the

59:08

family It's the best part about it, man It's like

59:10

I know like nothing could ever bring Cory back, but it's

59:12

nice to see a little bit of ray of sunshine in

59:15

their day After his death

59:17

the Cory's band future presidents continued to

59:19

honor him Once Newman

59:21

Raja was sentenced for manslaughter the

59:24

band held a tribute show and Cory's honor One

59:27

of his bandmates said he hoped to do

59:29

the work to ensure police officers wear body

59:32

cameras and that their de-escalation Training

59:34

is prioritized over using force

59:38

Cory's brother CJ wasn't his only family member

59:40

who made it to the NFL His

59:43

cousin and Quan Bolden played multiple seasons

59:45

in the league as well and shortly

59:47

after Cory was murdered And

59:49

Quan went on to play as a wide receiver

59:52

for the Detroit Lions That

59:54

was around the time when Colin Kaepernick began taking

59:56

a knee for the national anthem in 2015 as

1:00:00

a protest against police brutality. In

1:00:04

2016, Corey's cousin, Anquan Bolden, along

1:00:06

with Colin Kaepernick and other NFL

1:00:09

players, traveled to Capitol

1:00:11

Hill to meet with the Speaker of the

1:00:13

House and other congressmen to discuss

1:00:15

changes in police policy. At

1:00:18

that time, Corey's murder had yet to be

1:00:20

tried. Anquan

1:00:22

also co-founded the Players Coalition in

1:00:24

2017 for the National

1:00:26

Football League. The aim was to

1:00:29

improve dialogue regarding social justice and

1:00:31

racial equality by bringing players,

1:00:33

coaches, and owners into a

1:00:35

conversation and movement related

1:00:37

to social justice and racial equality.

1:00:41

Part of that mission was to engage in

1:00:43

work related to police and community relations and

1:00:46

criminal justice reform. In

1:00:48

a 2017 interview at John Lay

1:00:50

College about criminal justice and police

1:00:52

reform, Anquan Bolden spoke

1:00:55

about his cousin Corey Jones and

1:00:57

how his life and death inspired

1:01:00

his work outside of football. Over

1:01:03

a period of time, seeing what transpired

1:01:05

in this country just

1:01:07

didn't sit right with me. A lot

1:01:09

of things didn't settle right with me. I

1:01:12

can remember being in training camp with

1:01:14

Buffalo and seeing... You

1:01:23

know, I was in a dorm, we

1:01:25

were having training camp, and

1:01:28

just seeing the images go

1:01:30

across the screen of what was happening in

1:01:32

Charlottesville. And for me, it

1:01:34

was like, man, enough is enough. This

1:01:37

country is in a

1:01:40

horrible place. And I felt like I could

1:01:43

be doing a lot more than catching touchdowns or,

1:01:45

you know, whatever

1:01:47

it is, winning games or whatever. So

1:01:49

I just felt like, felt led

1:01:51

to do something else. Criminal

1:01:53

justice reform is something I had already been working on

1:01:56

prior to. I had a tragic accident

1:01:58

in my life. lost my cousin

1:02:01

at the hands of an officer after he broke down on

1:02:03

the side of the road. So I

1:02:05

think for me that kind of began

1:02:07

the cycle of me thinking about things

1:02:09

past football. Corey's

1:02:12

short life and his family's grace and

1:02:14

presence in the Florida community and beyond

1:02:17

promoted a sense of connection and

1:02:19

responsibility for those who survived him

1:02:21

and for the people who knew the man who

1:02:24

drummed in a reggae band and who worked

1:02:26

within his community, making sure

1:02:28

houses were safe and making sure that

1:02:31

his music brought others joy. Every

1:02:33

October 18th from here on out will

1:02:36

be Corey's day in Delray Beach. Corey

1:02:38

Jones was a person who worked in

1:02:40

our city. The city embraced

1:02:43

who he was and the person that he was

1:02:46

and his family. So he really does

1:02:48

feel like family to us. This proclamation

1:02:50

and plans to create a statue memorializing

1:02:53

Corey are just some of the steps

1:02:55

toward change. On February 21st

1:02:57

of 2023, Clinton Jones Sr. won a $2 million lawsuit against the city of

1:03:04

Palm Beach Gardens and former

1:03:06

police officer Newman Raja. The

1:03:09

lawsuit was filed in 2016 and

1:03:11

it was finally paid out by insurance.

1:03:15

Like the long process and finalizing his

1:03:17

lawsuit, the journey in finding the

1:03:19

truth of what really happened that night on the

1:03:21

side of the road caused

1:03:23

much undue stress upon Corey's

1:03:25

father. From

1:03:28

the day Corey Jones died until the day

1:03:30

his father received the settlement from Palm Beach

1:03:32

Gardens, a total of eight

1:03:34

years passed by. It

1:03:37

took Officer Raja merely 13 seconds

1:03:39

to end Corey's life. At

1:03:42

the crime scene, someone shot a picture of

1:03:45

Corey's drum set. The

1:03:47

bass drum had a Future President's promo

1:03:49

sticker pasted to its bottom side. There

1:03:52

were also two symbols below the band's

1:03:54

name. One was of a heart and

1:03:57

the other, perhaps ironically enough, was

1:03:59

a person. Peace. Peace.

1:05:00

Peace. Peace.

1:06:00

you