User:Dragons flight/Death of Prince Jones

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On 1 September 2000, Prince C. Jones, Jr., an unarmed 25-year-old African American college student, was shot and killed by Carlton B. Jones, an African American corporal in the Prince George's County police department. Cpl. Jones, who is unrelated to Mr. Jones, initially indicated that he fired in self-defense after Mr. Jones attempted to ram Cpl. Jones with his car. His account was disputed by both forensic evidence and eye witnesses. The disputed death of Mr. Jones led to protests and allegations of racism and excessive force against the police department. Ultimately, both local and federal investigations into the shooting were closed without indicting the officer of any crime, in part due to lack of evidence. However, a subsequent civil jury held that Cpl. Jones was responsible for the wrongful death of Mr. Jones and awarded his family $3.7 million in compensation. A broader federal investigation launched into racism and abuses in the Prince George's County police department as the consequence of the shooting was ultimately settled after the County agreed to a series of reforms.

Circumstances of the shooting
In the early morning of 1 September 2000, Cpl. Jones and his supervisor Sergeant Alexander Bailey were working together undercover to investigate an alleged drug dealer known to drive a black 1998 Jeep Cherokee SUV. The officers observed Mr. Jones driving his black 1996 Jeep Cherokee and mistook him for their subject. They proceeded to follow him in separate unmarked cars for 15 minutes while Mr. Jones drove from X, near the vicinity of AAA where he had worked an evening shift to Y where Mr. Jones's fiancé resided. During this surveillance, Sgt. Bailey became separated from the other two and consequently did not participate in or observe the subsequent confrontation. After Mr. Jones stopped his car, Cpl. Jones decided to confront him. The details of this confrontation are disputed. In Cpl. Jones's account, he left his vehicle, identified himself as a police officer, raised his weapon, and demanded that Mr. Jones surrender himself. At which point, Cpl. Jones states that Mr. Jones attempted to ram his with his car, leading Cpl. Jones to open fire. By contrast, two civilian eye witnesses claim that Cpl. Jones pulled alongside Mr. Jones and spoke with him for roughly 15 minutes before the shooting. Cpl. Jones fired 16 rounds hitting Mr. Jones in his car six times, with at least five rounds entering through his back.

Identity of the victim
In addition to the disputed circumstances of the shooting, the identity of the victim contributed to heightened public interest in this case. Prince Jones was described as "well-bred, well-off, and well-connected". At the time of his death, he was a senior at Howard University months away from graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development. He had previously attended the highly competitive Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, where the assistant dean had described him as charismatic and a leader. After graduating, he had planned to join the Navy and attend Officer Candidate School. With his fiancé, he had a daughter who was 10 months old at the time of Mr. Jones's death.

Aftermath of the Shooting
The death of Mr. Jones garnered national attention with figures such as Rev. Al Sharpton and Al Gore calling attention to it. Protests were held at Howard University and in front of the Justice Department in nearby Washington, DC. Though the officer involved was also African American, many perceived racial bias in the shooting and linked it to claims of racial bias in previous actions by the same police department.