SEATTLE — Four years after he was reportedly shot and killed by an Auburn police officer in front of a grocery store, dozens of community members came together Sunday evening to demand justice for 26-year-old Jesse Sarey.
"Justice for Jesse!" Activists shouted on Sunday. "Justice for Jesse!
His frustrated family was joined by a chorus of community voices at a Celebration of Life event at El Centro de la Raza, who demanded urgent accountability after numerous trial delays. A court hearing had finally been set for May 5, but it was pushed back again; this time, to December.
"He’s also been on paid house arrest for that three years," said Elaine Simons, Sarey's former foster mom.
A Cambodian-American experiencing homelessness, prosecutors said Sarey was unarmed in 2019 when Auburn officer Jeff Nelson shot him in both the chest and the head during an attempted arrest for disorderly conduct. Sarey's family said he was having a mental health crisis.
Nelson has been paid more than $270,000 since the killing. Auburn Police Department defended that action and said they are required to keep him on the payroll until a verdict is rendered.
"We’re ready," Simons said. "We’re ready to go to trial and this delay has just been hard on our family."
“I-940 is the law," the Ragin' Grannies of Tacoma sang during a performance. "Why hasn’t he been tried? Tell us why, tell us why, tell us why!”
Sarey's case will be the first to be tried in Washington under I-940, but King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office called this one reason for the delay.
"Our lawyers and defense are working hard on preparing this case for trial," the office said.
Approved by voters in 2018, Initiative 940 means the law no longer requires prosecutors to prove that police acted with malice or evil intent.
"We are gonna stand up for this family. We are going to show support," said Deanne English of Ragin' Grannies'. "As many people as we can get!"
Ragin' Grannies' Marilyn Kimmerling shared their reason for performing: "People tend to listen and love their grandmothers, so we thought, ‘What if we formed a group of women of a certain age?’”
Simons said getting people to listen has become her central objective.
"Change the narrative for justice," Simons told the crowd.
There were many families in attendance at the event Sunday whose family members have been killed by Washington police, including local mother Annaleesa Thomas.
"He was unarmed the whole time," Thomas said of her son Leonard, who was killed by Lakewood police a decade ago.
Thomas said she has been offering help and advice to Sarey’s family.
"Ya know, where do you find an attorney?" Thomas said. "How do you sue in civil court? All of those things we have learned."
She said these families stick together because they know what it is like to lose someone at the hands of an officer.
“If you take somebody’s life, there has to be a protocol: did you do this?" Thomas said. "Did you do that? Did you step back?"
De-escalation training was another call to action voiced by Sarey’s brother Koleton Hart.
"It should have more reasoning," Hart said. "This definitely wasn’t enough reasoning."
As KING 5 has reported, Nelson fatally shot two other people during his time as an Auburn police officer.
"We are hoping the decertification takes place now," Simons said. "There is no reason why he should not be decertified."
Prosecutors said the new law for prosecuting deadly force cases requires novel arguments and new legal research.
Nelson pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.