UPDATED 2019/03/07 2:00PM
For the first time in 30 years, an officer in Florida has been convicted of an on-duty shooting. A jury in Florida found Nouman Raja, 41, guilty of manslaughter and attempted murder in the October 2015 death of 31-year-old Corey Jones.
Jones had been on his way home from a music gig on a Saturday night with his band when his car broke down on the highway. His brother and a band mate worked to fix the car, but were not successful. Jones then decided to wait alone for the tow truck to come. That is when Raja drove the wrong way up the exit ramp in an unmarked white van, wearing plain clothes and approaching aggressively. He did not identify himself to Jones, the audio recording showed.
Jones thought that he was being robbed, prosecutors argued, while Raja believed that he was investigating an abandoned car. Jones pulled out a hand gun that he had legally purchased just days before. That is when Raja shot him multiple times, killing him.
Raja’s attorneys argued in his case that he was justified in his decision to shoot because he feared for his life. He now faces life in prison.