Jones' mother talks to press after court decision

By Liz Oliner

Her voice was raspy, and her doctor had told her to rest it. But on Thurs., Nov. 4, Emma Jones defied doctor's orders and attended a press conference. She was determined to express her outrage at the report that U.S. Attorney Stephen Robinson released on his 20-month investigation into the 1997 shooting of her son Malik by East Haven police officer Robert Flodquist. With tears running down her face and her voice cracking, Jones said that she's not giving up on this case.

PETER CASOLINO/NEW HAVEN REGISTER Emma Jones at a press conference last spring.

Robinson's 93-page report, released on Fri., Oct. 29, explained his decision not to bring criminal charges against Flodquist. On Fri., Apr. 14, 1997, Flodquist stopped Malik Jones on a suspected motor vehicle violation. Jones drove away, leading Flodquist on a chase into New Haven that ended in a vacant lot. Flodquist ran up to Jones' car, smashed his gun into the driver's window, and shot four bullets at Jones, killing him. Robinson, in his report, said that this action was "questionable." But he did not find evidence "beyond a reasonable doubt" pertaining either to Flodquist's past or to this incident that would merit bringing federal charges against him.

Jones, however, thinks that the incident was racially motivated, and that her son was shot because he was black. "Mr. Flodquist acted as the aggressor," she said at the press conference. "All of his action from the beginning, when he decided to engage in racial profiling, up until he failed to call for medical help after shooting my son shows clearly his intent to kill and deprive Malik of his civil and human right."

Jones is also calling upon Connecticut Governor John Rowland, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., and Police Chief Melvin Wearing to support her request for a grand jury investigation. "Robinson elected to act as judge, jury, and investigator," Mrs. Jones's lawyer, Joseph Mondiz said of Robinson's investigation. "We want a jury to look at and examine these facts. A jury understands and analyzes things in a way that a single person cannot." Mondiz conceded that it's going to be difficult to get a grand jury investigation. "But that doesn't matter," he said. "We're still going to try. Sometimes the least likely things happen. It's important to keep up the fight."

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