Auburn Officer’s Trial Shows How I-940 Was Designed to Work
The murder conviction of Auburn police officer Jeffrey Nelson in the 2019 death of 26-year-old Jesse Sarey is more than just the first murder conviction of a police officer in Washington state in over 85 years. It also stands as a guide to prosecutors on how to apply the law when deciding whether to bring criminal charges against a police officer.
Initiative 940, adopted in 2018, made prosecution of police in Washington possible where it used to be all but impossible due to a required showing of “malice.” I-940 replaced malice with an objective standard that requires that the use of deadly force be “necessary,” using the perspective of a “similarly situated reasonable officer.” In addition, I-940 required training in de-escalation, mental health/crisis intervention and training on decision-making.
In charging Nelson with second-degree murder and first-degree assault, the King County prosecutor followed the I-940 framework by looking beyond just the moment the shots were fired. In bringing charges, the prosecutor assessed whether deadly force was “necessary” in the context of a similarly situated officer with Nelson’s training and legal requirements. “Necessary” is the linchpin of the law, defined to mean “that no reasonably effective alternative to the use of force appeared to exist and that the amount of force used was reasonable to effect the lawful purpose intended.” This definition encompasses a range of actions, as well as the principle of proportionality, all of which are taught to recruits and seasoned officers.
