Families, friends of Sarey, other shooting victims, respond to Auburn police officer’s charges

It was a day 15 months in the making for the family of 26-year-old Jesse Sarey, who was shot twice and killed by Auburn Police Officer Jeff Nelson in north Auburn on May 31, 2019.

So said people assembled outside the Maleng Regional Justice Center on Monday, Aug. 24 in Kent, where moments earlier, Nelson had become the first law enforcement officer in the state in three decades to face formal charges for shooting and killing another person. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges for second-degree murder and first-degree assault against Nelson for the death of Sarey. Nelson pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“Today is making history in the state of Washington,” a jubilant Elaine Simons, former foster mother of Sarey for six months when he was 11, said to a raucous response from the crowd. Among those in the crowd were loved ones of the late Renee Davis, Leonard Thomas, Giovonn Joseph-McDade, Charleena Lyles, Enosa Strickland Jr. and Isaiah Obet.

Nelson’s trial is likely months off, but here, they said, was hope that justice too long delayed or flat out denied may no longer be out of reach for the dead and for the anguished families and friends they left behind.

“When one family wins, we all win,” said Katrina Johnson, whose cousin, Charleena Lyles, who shot and killed by Seattle Police on June 18, 2017.

Among Johnson’s extended “we” was Sonia Joseph. A Kent police officer shot and killed her son, Giovonn Joseph McDade, on June 24, 2017, she said.

“Today was an emotional day for me, for every single family here, because all of us want justice for our loved ones,” Joseph said. “We’ve been denied that over and over and over, and we’ll continue to fight and work toward police accountability.”

Muckleshoot Tribe member Renee Davis was five months pregnant when King County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who were doing a welfare check, shot and killed her in October 2016. Davis’ foster sister, Danielle Bargala, credited Initiative 940 for getting things as far as they have gotten to date.

In 2019, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee unanimously approved revisions to the initiative, which state voters had passed the previous November to make it easier to prosecute police officers for negligent shootings.

The effect was to change language that determined when officers could be held liable for using deadly force. While I-940 in its original form would have required officers to show that they believed they’d acted in good faith when they applied deadly force, the new language imposed another test: whether another officer acting reasonably in the same circumstances would have believed deadly force was necessary.

“I want to thank every person that has worked on I-940 because this victory is a victory for every single person killed by the police,” Bargala said. “This victory is a victory for Renee. This victory is a victory for the Sarey family. This is change coming, and I am so, so proud to be here today.”

Kent native Po Leapai recalled his cousin, Iosia Faletogo, 36, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop on New Year’s Eve 2018 by a Seattle police officer. Faletogo left behind two boys under 10 years old, and the extended family is helping the boys’ mother raise them, he said.

“We just want justice,” Leapai said. “We haven’t gotten an inquest, we’ve been dismissed and treated very insensitively by (the Seattle Police Officers Guild) and the Seattle (Police Department), and we’re praying for an inquest for my family so we can get justice for Iosia. I feel like we’re here because there’s been a lack of transparency and accountability.

“I don’t believe police prevent crimes,” Leapai added. “I believe that preventing crimes involves funding Iosia Faletogo was shot and killed during a struggle with Seattle police after a traffic stop on Aurora Avenue North on New Year’s Eve.