Police union president says Gardens PD is not being transparent about Corey Jones shooting

Brian Entin
11:04 AM, Oct 20, 2015
8:03 AM, Oct 21, 2015

In Boynton Beach

WPTV

A police union has asked the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department to be more transparent in an officer-involved shooting case

WPTV

The president of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association is upset with Palm Beach Gardens Police.

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Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

UPDATE: Palm Beach Gardens police held a news conference Tuesday evening.

Click here for updated story.

EARLIER:

The president of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association is upset with Palm Beach Gardens Police leaders after he says they are not being transparent enough about the shooting of Corey Jones.

Union President John Kazanjian says Palm Beach Gardens officers are receiving death threats in the wake of the Corey Jones shooting.

And Kazanjian partly blames the Gardens police chief for not doing interviews and being transparent.

"We don't want another Ferguson. They need to get out there and address the public...chief, get out there and tell the public what is going on," Kazanjian said.

Police have declined to do any interviews since the officer shot Jones on Sunday morning.

Palm Beach Gardens Police said in a news release that an unmarked officer shot and killed Jones early Sunday morning along Interstate 95. The officer, identified as Nouman Raja, just started with the department earlier this year and was in plain clothes.

"For him just to be gunned down like that...it really hurts. My nephew was just broken down on the side of the road," Jones' uncle Frederick Banks said.

Corey Jones' family members say they have also not been able to get information from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.

The family says it has hired noted attorney Benjamin Crump to represent them. 

The Palm Beach Gardens police spokeswoman has not returned calls for comment Tuesday morning about the union president's statement.

U.S. Rep. Patrick E. Murphy, a Democrat representing Florida's 18th District, issued the following statement:

"I join our entire community in mourning the tragic death of Corey Jones. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this terrible time. While all the details of Corey's death are still not known, I am deeply concerned. Corey's family deserves answers and an open and transparent investigation. Our whole community deserves nothing less, and I will be doing everything I can to ensure all the facts come to light. We must come together — not only to find out what happened, but also to prevent such tragedies in the future."
 

Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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