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[Trojita]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/10/19/after-his-car-broke-down-florida-church-drummer-shot-and-killed-by-plainclothes-officer/

Their band, Future Prezidents, had finished their gig almost an hour earlier, so bass player Mathew Huntsberger was surprised to get a call from drummer Corey Jones, 31, around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday.

Jones told Huntsberger that his SUV had broken down and asked if he could help, so Huntsberger drove to find his bandmate, who was stranded north of West Palm Beach, Fl. on Interstate 95. He brought along some oil, but when that didn’t work, the two decided to look up numbers for a tow truck.

“I tried to help him the best I could, but I’m not a mechanic or anything,” Huntsberger said in an interview with The Post on Monday afternoon.

Huntsberger said he called roadside assistance for his bandmate and then, about 2:30 a.m., left to head home while Jones waited for the tow truck.

About 45 minutes later, Jones was dead — shot and killed by a police officer.

“When I left him he was sitting in his car calling roadside assistance,” Huntsberger said. “I never would have thought that someone was going to come kill him.”

Few details have been released about the Oct. 18 shooting — which is one of more than 780 fatal police shootings so far in 2015, according to a Washington Post database of all deadly on-duty shootings by police officers in 2015.

In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said that officer Nouman Raja was in plainclothes in an unmarked car when he stopped to investigate what he believed to be an abandoned vehicle on an Interstate 95 exit ramp.

“As the officer exited his vehicle, he was suddenly confronted by an armed subject,” the police department said in a statement. “As a result of the confrontation, the officer discharged his firearm, resulting in the death of the subject.”

Palm Beach Gardens is a roughly 50,000-resident city near Palm Beach, made up primarily of white residents. The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, referred requests for comment to the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department. Officials with the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“They’re saying he was armed, but I don’t know if I believe it,” said Huntsberger, who described Jones as a really mellow, church-going guy. “Of course they’re going to say that. If I was there, maybe it’s a different situation. I just don’t know what happened.”

Armed with what, drumsticks!?

WTF

 

[jmood88]

Damn shame.

 

[Discotheque]

GUESS WHAT ETHNICITY

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Another one for the __________ While Black list I guess.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Dehumanizing tow truck waiting.

And now all we have is a cop's word vs that of a dead man and whatever the coroner can determine from the scene.

I wonder how I'd react to an unmarked car pulling up behind me at 3am on the side of the highway. That sounds like a time when I'd want to be armed to defend myself as the owner of the broken car. I wonder how the officer presented himself. We'll never really know.

 

[ponpo]

Dehumanizing tow truck waiting.

And now all we have is a cop's word vs that of a dead man and whatever the coroner can determine from the scene.

I wonder how I'd react to an unmarked car pulling up behind me at 3am on the side of the highway. That sounds like a time when I'd want to be armed to defend myself as the owner of the broken car. I wonder how the officer presented himself. We'll never really know.

Some sources are saying he had a permit for a gun so thats probably how it went down. Unmarked & plain clothes guy pulling up behind him.

 

[element]

Curious if the officer made is clear he was an officer (lights, siren, PA speaker). I don't own a firearm, but if a random car pulled up to me at 3 AM and I did have a firearm, I'd probably at least have it on me.

 

[Chariot]

urgh

 

[SamuelSupreme]

Jesus America.....

 

[Skyzard]

Dehumanizing tow truck waiting.

And now all we have is a cop's word vs that of a dead man and whatever the coroner can determine from the scene.

I wonder how I'd react to an unmarked car pulling up behind me at 3am on the side of the highway. That sounds like a time when I'd want to be armed to defend myself as the owner of the broken car. I wonder how the officer presented himself. We'll never really know.

No video camera there yet ffs?

 

[Syriel]

Curious if the officer made is clear he was an officer (lights, siren, PA speaker). I don't own a firearm, but if a random car pulled up to me at 3 AM and I did have a firearm, I'd probably at least have it on me.

Not according to the information in the other thread:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1126895

 

[Sanjay]

"In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said that officer Nouman Raja was in plainclothes in an unmarked car when he stopped to investigate what he believed to be an abandoned vehicle on an Interstate 95 exit ramp."

I wonder if its his personal car or work car.

 

[Fried Food]

sounds like there are no witnesses. The cop could say anything he wanted.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

You know, even if America has stricter gun control laws, they'll still be one of the highest gun homicide countries because of the police.

 

[Gravy Boat]

Few details have been released about the Oct. 18 shooting — which is one of more than 780 fatal police shootings so far in 2015, according to a Washington Post database of all deadly on-duty shootings by police officers in 2015

That's a crazy fucking number. Like holy shit. Did a quick search online and there have been around 70 people killed by police in the UK since the 1920's. Like, less than 10% of the number the US has had in the past 10 months. That's so insane.

 

[Komo]

American police are some of the worst scum on this earth

I'd have more respect for some organized criminal gangs

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

That's a crazy fucking number. Like holy shit. Did a quick search online and there have been around 70 people killed by police in the UK since the 1920's. Like, less than 10% of the number the US has had in the past 10 months. That's so insane.

Somehow in the US this has been accepted as normal. Its sick.

 

[Two Words]

Yeah I can't believe a word this cop is saying. Sounds like this "he was armed" story was concocted when he still suspected it was an abandoned car. I mean, are we supposed to really believe a man with a broken car waiting for help decided to pull out a gun and confront somebody after a band session?

 

[Chariot]

That's a crazy fucking number. Like holy shit. Did a quick search online and there have been around 70 people killed by police in the UK since the 1920's. Like, less than 10% of the number the US has had in the past 10 months. That's so insane.

Yeah, even taking the higher populution in account, it's crazy high. But the USA has trouble dealing with the iasues even with enourmos empiric evidence. I hat hate "it's too hard, I can't do it"-attitude. Like a fat man giving up on standing up in the morning. Fuck that. Do something, USA.

Yeah I can't believe a word this cop is saying. Sounds like this "he was armed" story was concocted when he still suspected it was an abandoned car. I mean, are we supposed to really believe a man with a broken car waiting for help decided to pull out a gun and confront somebody after a band session?

Hey, maybe he did have a gun - because some unmarked car arrived and somebody was sneaking up on him in the dark.

 

[FunkyDealer]

This is just ridiculous, I'm having a hard time understanding how this situation could escalate to the point where the cop decided he had to shoot him.

I imagine the cop parking and walking towards the SUV.
Cop: "Hey man, need some help?"
Man: "My car broke down, so I'm just waiting for the tow-truck."
Cop: "Well that's gotta suck, how long OH SHIT YOU BLACK!"

 

[Kalentan]

That's a crazy fucking number. Like holy shit. Did a quick search online and there have been around 70 people killed by police in the UK since the 1920's. Like, less than 10% of the number the US has had in the past 10 months. That's so insane.

To be fair the US has nearly 5 times the population of the UK... BUT that being said yeah it's becoming fucking crazy. Like holy shit 1108 people ALONE were killed in 2014 by police and I almost fear the number will rise past that for 2015 at this rate. Like I at this point, I feel like police not able to carry guns unless being called out of the station to a crisis that involves someone with a gun is the only way to fix this. Cause it's becoming clear that having cops have guns on their person at all times is something they can't handle.

Not to mention that cops that do this kind of shit need to be fucking fired and banned for ever having a gun. Hell at this point I know this may sound like tinfoil conspiracy.. but... I almost wonder if Republicans want more guns so to then justify more cops killing people.

 

[ponpo]

American police are some of the worst scum on this earth

I'd have more respect for some organized criminal gangs

Which gangs?

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

To be fair the US has nearly 5 times the population of the UK...

To be fair we are also comparing 95 years of police shootings in the UK vs 10 months in the US, and the US number is more than 10 times higher.
So the population isn't really a significant factor here.

 

[Gravy Boat]

To be fair the US has nearly 5 times the population of the UK... BUT that being said yeah it's becoming fucking crazy. Like holy shit 1108 people ALONE were killed in 2014 by police and I almost fear the number will rise past that for 2015 at this rate. Like I at this point, I feel like police not able to carry guns unless being called out of the station to a crisis that involves someone with a gun is the only way to fix this. Cause it's becoming clear that having cops have guns on their person at all times is something they can't handle.

Not to mention that cops that do this kind of shit need to be fucking fired and banned for ever having a gun. Hell at this point I know this may sound like tinfoil conspiracy.. but... I almost wonder if Republicans want more guns so to then justify more cops killing people.

5 times the population isn't a 'to be fair' thing here. Since January alone the US has had 10 times the amount of police killings that the UK has had in the past century. Like, that's just this year, that's not even taking into account last year, or the last decade or whatever. Anyone who doesn't seem to thing there's a problem with the way the US police system works needs to let that sink in. Over 700 shootings in 10 months versus 70 in just under 100 years. That's roughly 10 times more shooting in a 99% shorter period of time.

That's the first time in a long time that I've been genuinely shocked by a statistic. How has this been allowed to happen?

 

[EASTC0AST_GH05T]

This story makes no sense, the man was waiting for help. If I was waiting for road side assistance I would be happy to see a officer show up, why would I go at what appears to be help armed?

 

[ponpo]

This story makes no sense, the man was waiting for help. If I was waiting for road side assistance I would be happy to see a officer show up, why would I go at what appears to be help armed?

Plain clothes and unmarked car, so I don't think he realized it was a cop.

 

[Kalentan]

5 times the population isn't a 'to be fair' thing here. Since January alone the US has had 10 times the amount of police killings that the UK has had in the past century. Like, that's just this year, that's not even taking into account last year, or the last decade or whatever. Anyone who doesn't seem to thing there's a problem with the way the US police system works needs to let that sink in. Over 700 shootings in 10 months versus 70 in just under 100 years.

That's the first time in a long time that I've been genuinely shocked by a statistic. How has this been allowed to happen?

To be fair we are also comparing 95 years of police shootings in the UK vs 10 months in the US, and the US number is more than 10 times higher.
So the population isn't really a significant factor here.

I feel like you both read the first sentence of my post and replied and trying to make me out to be someone who thinks this is all fine. Making me the enemy.

 

[Madness]

This was Corey Jones. Just depressing to read about him. His friends, family and coworkers said he was one of the funniest and most humble guys. That he loved playing the drums, his friend Matthew even said that they were just musicians, they weren't violent. Imagine that, having your car break down, and rather than get help, you are shot and killed.

 

[Two Words]

These sort of secret cops are bullshit. If the cop is going to do police business, he should have to identify himself.

 

[EASTC0AST_GH05T]

Plain clothes and unmarked car, so I don't think he realized it was a cop.

ah I can see a scuffle taking place if the officer didn't identify himself and just rolled up on the dude. I can see the victim thinking a robbery or some funny business might happen. I don't know I am trying to put myself in his shoes.

 

[bjork]

Which gangs?

The Yakuza. At least they give us cool wrestling leagues and the glory years of Konami.

I can imagine if I was sitting in my car waiting for help and some random person just turned up, I'd probably think they were a robber. Especially if said person had a pistol out. But the lack of witnesses only works in the cop's favor, sadly. His word against nobody's.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

ah I can see a scuffle taking place if the officer didn't identify himself and just rolled up on the dude. I can see the victim thinking a robbery or some funny business might happen. I don't know I am trying to put myself in his shoes.

Of course. And we'll never know to what extent he identified himself because the other guy is dead.

 

[Gravy Boat]

I feel like you both read the first sentence of my post and replied and trying to make me out to be someone who thinks this is all fine. Making me the enemy.

I read the rest of your post and agreed, I just don't think your 'To be fair' applies in this situation.

 

[Kettch]

Yeah I can't believe a word this cop is saying. Sounds like this "he was armed" story was concocted when he still suspected it was an abandoned car. I mean, are we supposed to really believe a man with a broken car waiting for help decided to pull out a gun and confront somebody after a band session?

I think the story of a big misunderstanding is possible here. Personally, I don't trust officers to tell the truth after they've wrongly killed an innocent person, but this story isn't particularly outlandish. Officer pulls up on a car and gets out, drummer sees an unknown man with a gun coming toward him, thinks he's in danger and pulls out his gun, officer thinks he's in danger and shoots the drummer.

That doesn't mean I excuse the officer's actions at all. The only way this story works is if he didn't identify himself, and that's something he needs to do when coming up on someone late at night, in plain clothes, in an unmarked car. If it went down that way, then I would find the officer responsible for the man's death.

 

[Kalentan]

I read the rest of your post and agreed, I just don't think your 'To be fair' applies in this situation.

I will concede that "to be fair" may have not been the best choice of words.

It's just ugh... I'm starting to get sick of this daily ritual of cops killing people. It's almost a perfect example of people crying out that this needs to change but no one is doing anything or rather systems are in check to make these things harder to change. Which is worse.

 

[KingSnake]

There's something wrong about an armed plainclothes cop in an unmarked car pulling behind a car at 3 AM in the morning. It doesn't even matter if the victim had a gun. It's unsettling and plain wrong.

We all read about robberies done by fake cops. Just don't do this, you have no excuse for stirring up this shit. Call your colleagues, have a cop in uniform and police car check it.

Killer hero.

 

[Chariot]

The Yakuza. At least they give us cool wrestling leagues and the glory years of Konami.

I can imagine if I was sitting in my car waiting for help and some random person just turned up, I'd probably think they were a robber. Especially if said person had a pistol out. But the lack of witnesses only works in the cop's favor, sadly. His word against nobody's.

Also: disaster relief. The Yakuza had hundreds of trucks with aid on scene before the government had even decided.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

I feel like you both read the first sentence of my post and replied and trying to make me out to be someone who thinks this is all fine. Making me the enemy.

We didn't attack you. We just told you that population is an insignificant factor when you compare 10 months vs. 95 years.
When the timeframe is different by the factor 100, it doesn't matter that much that the population is different by the factor 5.

Adjusted for population and time this would be the numbers:
3 deaths* in the UK vs. 780** in the US per 10 months.

*Thats the number you get when you multiply the real number by 5 to adjust for the population.

**Remember that these 10 months in the US might not be representative, while the UK number is the precise number of the police shootings in the last century narrowed down to an average number for a 10 months time period.


So if the UK had 320mil people they'd had 3 police shootings over the course of 10 months, compared to the US's 780 shootings.
260 times more police shootings.

 

[Black Republican]

RIP, sad to see him die like that

 

[Ashes]

which is one of more than 780 fatal police shootings so far in 2015, according to a Washington Post database of all deadly on-duty shootings by police officers in 2015.

WTF

could everyone stop getting shot.gif

 

[Usobuko]

American police are some of the worst scum on this earth

I'd have more respect for some organized criminal gangs

Licensed to kill even in plain clothes without body cam.

As long as everything falls in the realm of subjectivity under the discretion of America police of course.

 

[Meciu]

This is just plain crazy to me. I hope we'll get to know the truth bout this incident.

 

[Ashes]

This was Corey Jones. Just depressing to read about him. His friends, family and coworkers said he was one of the funniest and most humble guys. That he loved playing the drums, his friend Matthew even said that they were just musicians, they weren't violent. Imagine that, having your car break down, and rather than get help, you are shot and killed.

Ah man... rest in peace Corey Jones.

 

[kiguel182]

Just did a quick search and, since 96 the per capita number for police kills in Portugal is 0.0000058 which is a little more than double than US ones for just this year. A span of almost 20 years compared to just one year.

Really puts things into perspective, crazy numbers.

And, regarding this case, I wouldn't believe what the cop is saying.

 

[Siegcram]

I guess we'll see an increase in plain-clothes police if bodycams become a requirement.

Fucking scum.

 

[King_Moc]

If you use phrases like "as a result of the confrontation, the office discharged his firearm", then I'm just going to assume you're hiding something.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

Can someone please explain why is police in USA so trigger-happy? 780 people killed by police in just one year (not even whole year) is just crazy. If the police really have to shoot, can't they just shoot the suspect in the legs or arms - just to disarm the person but not outright kill him or her?

 

[Chariot]

Can someone please explain why is police in USA so trigger-happy? 780 people killed by police in just one year (not even whole year) is just crazy. If the police really have to shoot, can't they just shoot the suspect in the legs or arms - just to disarm the person but not outright kill him or her?

Something between racism, an heavily armed population and permanent war propaganda.

 

[VanquishUK]

This shit is enough for anyone to think twice before calling the police for help.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

That's a crazy fucking number. Like holy shit. Did a quick search online and there have been around 70 people killed by police in the UK since the 1920's. Like, less than 10% of the number the US has had in the past 10 months. That's so insane.

That's insane. And look at the massive hullabaloo when they accidentally kill the wrong person - like Jean Charles de Menezes (sp). Yet this just seems to be business as usual with the US police force.

American police are some of the worst scum on this earth

I'd have more respect for some organized criminal gangs

Don't be silly now. Don't judge the entire police force of probably hundreds of thousands of officers (?) on the actions of a fraction of one percent.

Can someone please explain why is police in USA so trigger-happy? 780 people killed by police in just one year (not even whole year) is just crazy. If the police really have to shoot, can't they just shoot the suspect in the legs or arms - just to disarm the person but not outright kill him or her?

I'm not from the US, but I believe police are trained to shoot to kill, no wound. That could explain part of it. Certainly seems like they should carry non-lethal weapons as well, or if they already do, then use those weapons more commonly rather than defaulting to the gun.