Auburn police officer found guilty of murder

KENT, Wash. – A King County jury convicted Auburn police Officer Jeffrey Nelson of murder and assault Thursday for the 2019 shooting death of Jesse Sarey, a historic verdict that came under a law born from anguish and anger over unnecessary police violence.

The six-man, six-woman jury at the Maleng Regional Justice Center –deliberating just a few miles from the Auburn neighborhood grocery where Nelson fatally shot the 26-year-old, unarmed Sarey – spent almost four days weighing the second-degree murder and first-degree assault case.

The murder conviction carries a term of up to life in prison. First-degree assault is punishable by up to 25 years.

Nelson had no visible reaction as the verdicts were read. Some in the courtroom could be heard crying. When the judge announced that Nelson would be taken into custody until sentencing, the officer slumped in his chair. Sentencing was scheduled for July 16.

The defense plans to file a motion for a new trial.

The case represents a landmark in law-enforcement accountability in the state, as Nelson is the first police officer in Washington to be convicted of murder for on-duty actions.

Nelson, in his only statement – given weeks after the May 31, 2019 shooting and after he’d consulted with an attorney – claimed Sarey had tried to grab his gun. His attorneys, during arguments to the jury, said Nelson feared Sarey had gotten hold of a folding utility knife from his vest and was going to stab him.

However, the jury – after viewing surveillance footage of the shooting and hearing from two eyewitnesses – concluded that prosecutors had proven that Nelson ignored his training, violated department policy and broke the law he was sworn to uphold.

Nelson, 45, who shot the unarmed Sarey twice, faced the second-degree murder charge for the first shot, which was fired point-blank into Sarey’s abdomen and the medical examiner said was fatal. The first-degree assault charge was for the second shot, fired seconds later, into Sarey’s head.

Nelson was the first police officer charged under the provisions of Initiative 940, a sweeping series of police-accountability legal standards passed by Washington voters in 2018.

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