Murphy, Palm Beach County Delegation Introduce The Corey Jones Act

Press Release

Today, Congressman Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) joined U.S. Reps. Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), Ted Deutch (FL-21), and Lois Frankel (FL-22) to introduce the Corey Jones Act of 2016, which would only allow the award of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants to police departments that prohibit plainclothes officers from engaging in routine traffic stops in unmarked vehicles. The bill is named after Corey Jones, a resident of Palm Beach County, who was shot and killed by a plainclothes law enforcement officer operating an unmarked vehicle in Palm Beach Gardens during the early hours of October 18, 2015. Following this tragedy, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department recently announced policy changes to strengthen their plainclothes officers policy and diversity training. Last night the Palm Beach Gardens City Council also unanimously approved the PBGPD's request to purchase body cameras for officers.

"After the heartbreaking death of Corey Jones last fall, I joined our entire community in not only mourning his loss but also looking at what could be done to prevent such tragedies in the future," said Murphy. "Following conversations with his family and community leaders, I am proud to join Congressman Hastings and my fellow members of the Palm Beach County delegation in introducing the Corey Jones Act.

"I also applaud the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department for enacting changes to their plainclothes officers policy and approving the start of a body camera program this week," Murphy added. "We honor Corey's memory by taking actions such as these to increase public safety and improve trust between law enforcement and their communities."

"This common-sense legislation will help keep both law enforcement and the citizens they police safe," said Hastings, the lead sponsor of the Corey Jones Act. "Tragic incidents like the death of Corey Jones can easily be avoided by prohibiting plain-clothes law enforcement officials driving unmarked vehicles from making traffic stops. These situations lead to confusion and even confrontation.

"As Co-Chair of the ongoing Broward Community Policing Roundtable, which works to strengthen and foster relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve, I believe that imposing this requirement on COPS grant recipients will make our communities safer," further noted Hastings.

"The family and friends of Corey Jones have suffered a heartrending loss, and while no legislation can fill the void left in their hearts by this tragedy, what it can do is spare more families such grief and anguish," said Deutch, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. "The community-driven effort to ensure that Corey's loss is not in vain has already led to meaningful change at the local level. Today, we are carrying forward those efforts at the federal level, and I applaud my good friend Congressman Hastings for leading the way with the introduction of the Corey Jones Act."

"Last fall, I joined our entire South Florida community in mourning the loss of Corey Jones, a talented musician and dear friend to many," said Frankel. "It's our hope that this bill, which bears Corey's name, will help prevent another tragedy and better the relationship between police officers and the citizens they serve."

Murphy recently introduced the Tracking Reputations Upgrades Societal Trust (TRUST) Act, focused on restoring trust between communities and police by measuring public trust in law enforcement and incentivizing partnerships to improve community relations. Additionally, Murphy joined Congresswoman Corrine Brown (FL-05) on the Police CAMERA Act to provide federal funding for state and local law enforcement agencies to purchase body cameras, and following the death of Corey Jones, renewed his call for police officers to be equipped with body cameras.