Auburn police officer charged with murder in man’s shooting death

The King County prosecuting attorney says murder charges have been filed against an Auburn police officer in the shooting of a man last year.

Auburn police Officer Jeff Nelson is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault in the May 31, 2019, shooting death of Jesse Sarey outside a grocery store.

Witnesses described seeing Sarey go on a tirade at a nearby Rite Aid, then continue the rant in a small grocery store across the street.

The shooting happened while Nelson was trying to arrest Sarey for disorderly conduct.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg showed a series of four surveillance videos during a Thursday news conference that he said were key in showing what led up to Nelson shooting Sarey twice, including once in the head.

The videos show Nelson telling Sarey he is under arrest for disorderly conduct and then trying to take him into custody. During a struggle between Sarey and Nelson, video shows Nelson start a series of seven punches toward Sarey’s head and upper body.

One video shows the officer push Sarey against a freezer box while drawing his weapon. Prosecutors say Nelson then fired one shot into Sarey’s torso, cleared a jammed round from his gun, and then fired another shot into Sarey’s forehead less than four seconds later.

“After the first shot, Mr. Sarey was on his behind, falling backwards with his legs and feet toward Officer Nelson when the second shot was fired into his head,” a news release from Satterberg said.

During the investigation, use of force experts were used to help understand police training and tactics and how they relate to the new legal standard under I-940, which focuses on whether an officer’s use of deadly force is deemed “reasonable.”

He said the murder charge relates to the first shot fired into Sarey’s torso, which lead to his death.

The second shot fired by Nelson into Sarey’s head, which was found not to be the fatal shot, is related to the assault charge.

The decision to charge Nelson marks the first time a police officer has faced charges under the new standards put in place by Initiative 940.

Previously, state law required prosecutors to prove an officer acted with malice. Under the new standard, prosecutors must prove that an officer acted outside the range of what a “reasonable officer” would do in a similar circumstance.

[WARNING, GRAPHIC: The video below contains synced surveillance video of Sarey’s shooting]

WARNING, GRAPHIC: Synced video of shooting of Jesse Sarey

Satterberg said experts found that Nelson did not follow his training, did not try to de-escalate the situation and did not wait for backup to arrive.

“Officer Nelson went hands on with Mr. Sarey in just 38 seconds and Mr. Sarey was fatally shot 29 seconds later,” Satterberg said in the release.

Experts determined that the officer “created the very situation that brought about his use of deadly force.”

Satterberg said he is not seeking to detain Nelson, who has remained in the area since the shooting and has no reason to think he will not make his first appearance in court.

Cox Media Group