by Vee Hua 華婷婷
Five years after the May 2019 death of Jesse Sarey, a 26-year-old Khmer American man, Auburn police officer Jeffrey Nelson was found guilty on Thursday, June 27, on one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault. The jury trial had been delayed over half a dozen times since 2019.
The judge ordered the jury to return to deliberations after it was initially unable to make a decision on Tuesday, June 25. Two days later, the jury determined that Sarey's killing was unwarranted under Washington State law. Nelson is the first Washington State officer to be convicted following the passage of Initiative 940, which changes legal standards that hold officers accountable for using deadly force by not requiring the proof of "malice."
Nelson will be sentenced on July 16. The maximum sentence for the murder conviction is life in prison, while the maximum sentence for first-degree assault is 25 years. His defense team plans to seek a new trial.
As reported by KING 5, "Nelson was attempting to arrest Sarey outside of an Auburn grocery store on May 31, 2019, when he shot him once in the abdomen and again seconds later in the head after Sarey had already hit the ground. Nelson claimed Sarey attempted to reach for his gun and the knife in his utility vest, but a witness to the scuffle picked the knife up off the ground and placed it on top of a nearby vehicle."
Nelson had been working for the Auburn Police Department since 2008 but has been on administrative leave following Sarey's death in 2019. Between 2011 and 2020, he had been involved in at least 65 use-of-force incidents. According to early reporting by the Emerald, Nelson was also involved in three of the five officer-involved shootings in the entire Auburn Police Department, including Sarey's, as well as the deaths of 48-year-old Brian Scaman in 2011 and 25-year-old Isaiah Obet in 2017. All three were shot multiple times and died of gunshot wounds to the head.
Sarey's foster mother, Elaine Simons, told The Associated Press, "This has been a long five years for a semblance of justice. It has set a precedent for police officers to do what is right. The citizens of Auburn can have a sense of safety."
The City of Auburn had previously settled civil rights claims for over $4 million to the Sarey family, $1.25 million to the Obet family, and an additional $450,000 to Loren Joseph Allen, who alleged the use of excessive force by Nelson.
Four anti-police graffiti protesters who were arrested in January 2021 and put into King County Jail during the COVID-19 pandemic have been awarded $680,000 by a federal jury. The protesters had placed chalk graffiti on SPD's abandoned East Precinct during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, which was established following the death of George Floyd and ensuing protests in support for Black Lives Matter.
Filed in a federal court, the lawsuit alleged that the City of Seattle and four Seattle Police Department (SPD) police officers — Ryan Kennard, Dylan Nelson, Alexander Patton, and Michele Letizia — did not have the right to put the four protesters in jail, due to a City and County ban on placing misdemeanor offenders into jail during the COVID-19 pandemic. Court documents showed that SPD officers and high-ranking city officials invoked a "protestor exception" to the ban.
A 10-member jury ruled on the side of the protesters, who were Derek Tucson, Robin Snyder, Monsieree de Castro, and Erik Moya-Delgado. According to The Guardian, "The jury found that the city and officers arrested and jailed the four as retaliation, and the officers acted with malice, reckless disregard or oppression denying the plaintiffs their first amendment rights."
Each of the four protesters was awarded $20,000 in compensatory damages, to be paid by the City, and varied amounts over $60,000 each in punitive damages, to be paid by individual officers. The graffiti they had written on the East Precinct included messages like "[Expletive] the Police," "Peaceful Protests," and "Free Them All."
As summer kicks into full swing and the City of Seattle anticipates increases in gun violence, the Traffic Jam for Peace on July 5, sponsored by Urban Family and community, kicks off the campaign for 100 Days of Peace, a coordinated effort between the City of Seattle, King County, and community partners to roll out a campaign that addresses gun violence prevention and intervention.
Led by Black and Brown community leaders, organizations, youth, family, and residents who have been impacted by gun violence, Traffic Jam for Peace invites cars, trucks, and motorcycles to decorate their vehicles with messages of hope and peace, then join in on the rally route.
Those interested in Traffic Jam for Peace on July 5 are invited to ride along an 11-mile route. Vehicle check-in begins at 12 p.m. at Airport Way South and South Norfolk Street. Participating vehicles will then be escorted the 11-mile full route to Edgar Martinez Drive South and 1st Avenue downtown, at the King Street Station Plaza. More details available on the Urban Family and Community website.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
📸 Featured Image: A 2019 vigil for Jesse Sarey. (Photo: Violetta Trushkova)
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