First Officer Convicted Under A Washington State Law Gets 16-Year Sentence

A police officer in Washington State was sentenced Thursday to more than 16 years in prison for killing a man during an attempted arrest in 2019, cementing the first conviction under a state law that made it easier to prosecute police officers for using deadly force.

The officer, Jeffrey Nelson, was found guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree assault in June for shooting and killing Jesse Sarey, 26, while attempting to arrest him for disorderly conduct in May 2019 outside Sunshine Grocery in Auburn. Officer Nelson was charged with murder and assault in August 2020, more than a year after the killing, according to the news release from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

This is the first sentencing under a legal reform, Initiative 940, which was overwhelmingly approved by Washington voters in 2018. The initiative loosened the standards that needed to be met to criminally prosecute police officers for using deadly force.

Before the legal change, prosecutors had to prove that officers acted with malice. Under the reform, a jury must decide if the officer’s action was reasonable. Officer Nelson was the first police officer to be charged by King County prosecutors under the law in August 2020.

“A King County jury found that Officer Nelson’s actions were not above the law,” Leesa Manion, the King County prosecuting attorney, said in a statement on Thursday. “We have always known how impactful this case is to the individuals involved and to the community as a whole.”

Before the guilty verdict was delivered in June, Mr. Sarey’s mother and brother also died. Elaine Simons, who was a foster mother to the brothers, told The New York Times in June that the conviction “sets a precedent that officers are not above the law.”

Emma Scanlan, a lawyer on Officer Nelson’s defense team, said in an email to The Times on Thursday that the officer and his defense team “regret the loss of Jesse Sarey’s life.” However, she said, the trial “was marred by unprecedented and significant legal errors that deprived Officer Nelson of his constitutional rights,” and his legal team would be appealing.

The Auburn Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Officer Nelson has been on unpaid administrative leave since his conviction in June. He has been under a formal review process, which was paused during the hearings but has since resumed, according to a spokesman with the city of Auburn.

His case was the second to go to trial under the new law. Three Tacoma police officers were acquitted last year in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died in police custody. The officers received $500,000 to resign from the Tacoma Police Department.

Alexandra E. Petri contributed reporting.