More details of Sacramento police shooting emerge; man who was killed had troubled past

The man killed in an officer-involved shooting at an apartment complex near Sacramento State has been identified as a Sacramento County man with a troubled past.

The man seen in viral video Tuesday holding a semi-automatic firearm while being pursued by Sacramento police is Jeremy Michael Southern, 22. He was identified by a friend who lived at The Crossings, where Southern often stayed, The Sacramento Bee has confirmed.

Southern was killed Tuesday in a confrontation with police, according to a news release by the Sacramento Police Department and cellphone video of the incident. He had recently been released from state prison after pleading no contest to a 2016 felony charge of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, according to court records.

Southern was registered as an offender on the Megan’s Law website. According to Megan’s Law records, he was “in violation” and considered at “above average risk” of sexual offense.

According to police, Southern was being pursued in connection with a shooting that occurred in the area on July 15.

The Crossings is a student housing complex that has 765 beds, according to Student Quarters, its management agency.

In internal communications to Crossings residents, management said Sacramento police officers were investigating a “gunshot heard on the property” last week.

“It was at this time they identified the suspect as a non-tenant that frequented the community,” according to the email. A Sacramento State spokeswoman confirmed Southern was not a student at the university.

Police said officers on Tuesday observed a man matching the description of the suspect from the July 15 shooting, “who had a distinctive visible tattoo.”

A photo of Southern showed he had tattoos on his neck and under his eye.

“Officers verbally identified themselves and attempted to contact him,” police said in a news release. “The subject removed a handgun from a satchel and began pointing it at officers. The suspect continued to point the firearm at officers and remained non-compliant with their commands to drop the weapon.”

Video of the incident captured by a Crossings resident shows Southern grasping a firearm in both hands and pointing it at an entrance to a complex courtyard. Southern then pulls out a cell phone while continuing to point the firearm. A female bystander is seen standing nearby with her hands in the air.

After a gap in the video, Southern is then seen lying on the ground, face up, apparently shot. The video jumps a second time and Southern appears to be moving toward a firearm on the ground a few feet away. A gunshot is heard and police steadily move toward him and begin rendering medical aid.

Southern was taken to a local area hospital where he later died. He was three days away from his 23rd birthday.

In 2014, when Southern was 17, he posted a video to his Facebook account in which he shuffled note cards in front of the camera saying he was in foster care.

“It sucks to know your mom doesn’t love u,” Southern wrote on a note card. “But what suck more is to be adopted for 16 yrs just to find out the person who adopted u did it for the money . . . I loved her and that family.”

He goes on to say that he had finally found his brother and that “theirs a light at the end of tunnel” because he believed he had found a family who loved him.

“So everyone who has it hard just know your not alone and if you need someone to talk to i’m here,” he wrote.

The video was viewed more than 58,000 times.

Tuesday night’s shooting is being investigated by the Sacramento police, and the Office of Public Safety Accountability and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office are “providing oversight by monitoring the investigation,” the department said.

The incident also falls within the City Council’s policy on police use of force and video and audio of the incident will be released within 30 days.

Police spokesman Officer Karl Chan said the firearm recovered from the scene appeared to be a Taurus 9mm handgun and was loaded when officers found it.

The female bystander was uninjured in the incident. According to internal communications to The Crossings residents, “The resident, whose guest was the suspect, has had their lease terminated.”

“We will continue to follow a zero tolerance policy for all residents, and their guests, who are incompliant with our rules and regulations,” The Crossings management said.

Black Lives Matter Sacramento will hold a vigil for Southern at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Crossings apartment complex, where Southern was killed.

This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 1:48 PM.