Shooting of Corey Jones

On February 2, 2020, during the broadcast of Super Bowl LIV, the shooting death of Corey Jones was featured in a 60-second commercial sponsored by the Players Coalition and narrated by Jones' cousin, Anquan Boldin. Boldin, a former NFL wide receiver co-founded the Players Coalition to focus on criminal justice reform, police community relations and economic advancement.

On March 7, 2019, Raja was found guilty of manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, following an eight-day jury trial. On April 25, 2019, Raja was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Raja's scheduled release date is February 27, 2044, but under Florida Parole and Probation guidelines his minimum release date is May 29, 2040. As of September of 2019, Raja was being held at the Wakulla Correctional Institution in Crawfordville, a minimum to medium security level prison southeast of Tallahassee.

On January 18, 2018, defense attorneys for Raja filed a motion to dismiss all charges citing Florida's 'stand your ground' laws. In the motion, Raja claims that he identified himself as a police officer as he exited the van, that Jones "immediately jumped out, saying 'I'm okay, man'" as he approached the vehicle, and that Jones then "immediately drew a gun and pointed it at Officer Raja." Defense attorneys claim that Raja "repeatedly yelled for [Jones] to put his hands up and to 'drop the gun.'" Raja further stated he saw the silver muzzle pointing at him, and that he believed the gun was equipped with a red laser.

On January 17, 2017, investigators publicly released evidence in the case, including "more than 3,000 pages of documents and 50 video and audio recordings," in response to a public records request made by the Palm Beach Post and nine other news outlets. Included in the evidence were audio tapes from the phone calls to AT&T Roadside Assistance and 9-1-1 were released. Although Raja had told investigators previously that he had called 9-1-1 before shooting Jones, the audio recording of Jones' roadside assistance call showed the final shot had been fired 33 seconds before Raja dialed. The recording also showed that Raja never identified himself to Jones as a police officer. In a State Attorney's Office report released on January 17, 2017, prosecutors state that Officer Raja lied to investigators, giving an account of events that contradicted the evidence.

On June 1, 2016, Raja was charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. He was convicted of the charges on March 7, 2019, following an eight-day jury trial. Raja was sentenced to 25 years in prison on April 25, 2019.

On June 1, 2016, a grand jury charged Raja with manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announced that the grand jury concluded Raja had no justification to shoot Jones, and the charging documents "allege that Raja never identified himself to Jones as a police officer as he drove up to the stranded motorist, yelled commands and then opened fire."

On July 6, 2016, the family of Corey Jones filed a wrongful death suit, naming the City of Palm Beach Gardens and Raja as defendants.

On Sunday, October 18, 2015, at about 3:15 a.m., a plainclothes police officer in an unmarked white van with tinted windows wearing a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap, stopped by what he said was an abandoned vehicle. The Palm Beach Gardens Police Officer, Nouman K. Raja, approached the vehicle at the southbound exit ramp of Interstate 95 and PGA Boulevard. Raja, on duty doing burglary surveillance, said he was confronted by an armed subject so he discharged his weapon and killed the man later identified as Jones, a musician and local housing authority worker. In total, Raja discharged his weapon six times and hit Jones with three shots. One bullet entered the side of Jones' body, went through his aorta, killing him and ended up in the top part of his torso, while the other bullets went through his body, hitting his left elbow and right shoulder. Jones' arm was broken from the impact of one of the bullets.

Raja was an adjunct police academy instructor at Palm Beach State College, where he taught part-time. He was put on administrative leave from the college as well as the police department, which is normal policy when an officer-involved shooting occurs. Raja previously worked at Atlantis Police Department in Atlantis, Florida, for seven years from 2008 to 2015. On November 11, 2015, Raja's employment with the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, which was in a six-month probationary status from hire date April 13, 2015, was terminated. Around the same time, Raja's employment with Palm Beach State College ended, as a condition of his employment was his job working in the criminal justice system.

Jones' body was found a good distance – 80–100 feet (24–30 m) – away from the vehicle, from which he appeared to have run. Jones had a .380-caliber gun, which he had purchased three days prior to the shooting and for which he had a concealed carry license. It was found on the ground between Jones' body and his car and had not been discharged.

Jones was born to father Clinton Jones, Sr., who renovated houses, and mother, Anita Banks, a guidance counselor, who died from cancer in 2006. Jones' older brother, C. J. Jones, was a football player at University of Iowa and from 2003 to 2009 played as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Jones' sisters are Melissa Jones-Elliott, Chanda and Cevon Jones; his stepmother is Katie Jones. Jones has a very large extended family; among his cousins are NFL defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin. He lived in Lake Worth, Florida.

Nouman Raja is a Muslim of Pakistani ancestry. He was naturalized as an American citizen in 2001. His grandfather was a police chief in Pakistan. He worked for a small Florida police department for several years prior to joining the Palm Beach Gardens police. Raja is married with 2 children ages 7 and 9.

Corey Jones (February 3, 1984 – October 18, 2015) was a man who was killed by a plainclothes police officer, Nouman K. Raja, while waiting by his disabled car in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.