Corey Jones: stranded on the roadside, shot by a man in plain clothes
In 2015 Corey Jones was waiting with his broken-down car on a Florida road when a plainclothes officer shot and killed him. The officer was convicted. It took until February 2023 for the City of Palm Beach Gardens to settle with his family for $2 million, reported as the limit of its insurance.
A public record, not a client of this firm. Everything on this page comes from the court file, the government announcement or the reporting cited at the end. Usher Law Group did not represent anyone in this matter, we publish no results of our own, and nothing here predicts the outcome of any other case.
Corey Jones's car broke down on a Florida road in 2015. He was waiting for help when a man in plain clothes approached him. The man was a police officer. He shot Mr. Jones and killed him.
The officer was convicted. That is rare; most police shooting cases never produce a criminal charge, and this one produced a conviction. The civil case took longer. In February 2023, more than seven years after the shooting, the City of Palm Beach Gardens settled with his family for $2 million, an amount reported as the limit of the city's insurance policy.
Two things about this case explain Florida. The first is the officer's clothing. A plainclothes officer in an unmarked car approaching a stranded driver at night is the kind of fact a jury weighs heavily under the reasonableness standard, because the person being approached has no way to know who is coming. The second is the number. Florida caps what a government pays on a state-law claim, and the payment in this case was described not by the harm but by an insurance limit.
What the law calls it
Deadly force is unreasonable unless the officer has probable cause to believe the person poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury (Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985)), and the whole encounter is judged by objective reasonableness (Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)). Shooting a person is a seizure whether or not the person is stopped (Torres v. Madrid, 592 U.S. 306 (2021)).
In Florida, the state-law claim against a city is governed by Fla. Stat. 768.28: a written claim to the agency within three years, two for wrongful death, and damages capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, with the excess payable only by a legislative claim bill. An officer has no personal tort liability unless the officer acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or with wanton and willful disregard (768.28(9)(a)). The federal claim under Section 1983 has none of those limits, and in Florida it has a four-year limitation period.
What it cost
Family of Corey Jones
A stranded motorist shot by a plainclothes officer in 2015. The officer was convicted.
Source: CBS News. A public record of someone else's case, not a result of this firm and not a prediction.
What it means for you
If a family member was shot by police in Florida, the two claims have different shapes. The state wrongful death claim needs a written claim to the agency within two years and is capped at $200,000 per person; the federal claim has four years, no notice and no cap. A criminal case against the officer, if there is one, does not extend either clock. Our Florida page explains the notice, the cap and the claim bill, and police shootings explains the Garner standard.
The cap was almost raised. A 2026 bill to lift it to $350,000 and $500,000 passed both houses of the Legislature and was vetoed by the Governor on June 30, 2026. The numbers stand. Our Florida recovery page explains why the federal claim carries most of the value in a Florida case, and who pays explains indemnification and insurance.
The pages this story points to
Police shootings
Deadly force under Garner, and the facts that decide reasonableness.
Read →Florida
Three years for state notice, two for wrongful death, four for the federal claim.
Read →What Florida pays
The $200,000 and $300,000 caps, the claim bill, and the uncapped federal claim.
Read →Sources. CBS News, "City, family reach $2 million settlement in Florida fatal police shooting of Corey Jones" (February 2023); Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985); Torres v. Madrid, 592 U.S. 306 (2021); Fla. Stat. 768.28 (flsenate.gov); Florida HB 145 (2026), vetoed June 30, 2026.
Common questions
Why did a case with a criminal conviction settle for $2 million?
The public record says the settlement was at the limit of the city's insurance. Florida law caps what a state or local government pays on a state-law claim at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident; anything more requires a legislative claim bill. The federal claim under Section 1983 has no cap, but a settlement is a negotiated number, and how the parties reached it is not in the public record.
Does an officer's criminal conviction decide the civil case?
No. The civil claim is a separate proceeding with a lower standard of proof. A conviction is powerful evidence, but the civil case still has to be brought within its own deadline and proved on its own record.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.