A former police officer with the Palm Beach Gardens (FL) Police Department has failed in his bid to receive so-called "stand your ground" immunity, according to court records.
The Palm Beach Post reported that Nouman Raja—who is charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence and attempted murder with a firearm—brought the request to Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal after Circuit Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer denied Raja’s request for "stand your ground" immunity in June.
Raja claims he acted in self-defense when he reportedly shot Corey Jones near the off-ramp of Interstate 95 because Jones came at him with a gun.
"I didn’t want to die," Raja told investigators following the shooting.
But Feuer wrote in her 27-page ruling in June that Raja "acted unreasonably and not as a prudent person under the circumstances and the law."
To be granted the "stand your ground" immunity, defendants must believe they are in imminent danger, be in a place they have the right to be and are not taking part in a criminal act, according to Florida law.
