Sacramento man’s family protests deadly 2020 police shooting: ‘No one is really safe’
It’s been two years since a Sacramento police sergeant shot to death Roxanne Morales’ son, a 38-year-old man attending a community boxing event intended to deter gun violence.
Police said the sergeant saw many people running from the event, heard gunfire and spotted Augustine Bernardo Morales pointing a gun at a crowd before he shot Morales. His family has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, arguing that the officer shot Morales before ordering him to drop the gun.
On the anniversary of her son’s death, Morales’ mother said officers who use lethal force need to realize the impact they have on families.
“No one is really safe ... it’s scary when you can’t trust the police anymore,” the mother told The Sacramento Bee. “I’m not saying defund the police; I’m not saying to get rid of them. But we need change, we need accountability.”
Morales gathered with a few members of her family on Monday afternoon to protest outside a Sacramento police station at 3550 Marysville Blvd. in the city’s Del Paso Heights neighborhood. They held picket signs with photos of Morales and slogans, such as “Jail Killer Cops” and “Justice For Augustine.”
“We want justice for Augustine Morales. It’s been two years since Jeremiah Jarvis brutally murdered and taken my father,” said Seselie Morales, speaking through a megaphone at drivers along Marysville Boulevard. “We need justice and accountability to be held now.”
The Sacramento Police Department said Monday in a written statement to The Bee, “Per City protocols and procedures, the police department does not comment on incidents with pending litigation. Comments relating to pending litigation would need to come from the City Attorney’s Office. As it relates to the demonstration, the Sacramento Police Department assures the rights of citizens to lawfully exercise their First Amendment rights.”
Morales’ family has filed a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento, listing police Sgt. Jeremiah Jarvis as one of the defendants, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The lawsuit is scheduled to return to court April 18 for another hearing.
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The deadly police shooting occurred Nov. 14, 2020, outside the warehouse in the 1600 block of Juliesse Avenue. The event, called “Gunz Down Gloves Up: North Side Edition,” was intended to bring together local youths for a night of boxing.
More than 300 people attended the event, which was modeled on a popular trend in community engagement and meant to bring awareness to gun violence and offer a healthy alternative.
About 8 p.m., Jarvis saw a lot of people running from the building. Video from the body camera worn by the sergeant shows the crowd dispersing.
“I don’t know what’s going on, I just had a couple, maybe a hundred kids running out of here,” the sergeant radioed to dispatchers. “Whatever’s going on, nobody’s telling me. They’re just out running around. We’re going to need a couple units though, for sure.”
Police said one witness running from the warehouse told Jarvis that a Latino male had a gun. The sergeant was walking onto the property and heard gunshots fired in the area of the warehouse. Ten gunshots are heard in the sergeant’s body camera video.
Jarvis ran toward the sound of gunfire and confronted the armed man, later identified as Morales, who was pointing the gun toward the crowd inside the warehouse, according to the Police Department. Jarvis then fired his gun at Morales.
Attorneys for Morales’ family argued in the lawsuit that Jarvis “was absolutely silent” as he approached Morales from behind, did not identify himself as law enforcement, give any commands or issue any warnings to Morales before he fired his gun.
“In short, Sgt. Jarvis never gave Mr. Morales a chance,” the family’s lawsuit reads. “Sgt. Jarvis shot Mr. Morales several times in the back.”
In a Dec. 14, 2021, response to the lawsuit, attorneys representing Sacramento and Jarvis admitted that Jarvis “did not give any commands or verbal warnings to Morales.” But attorneys denied all other allegations about the police sergeant’s approach.
The city’s attorneys also admitted that Morales did not turn in Jarvis’ direction before he was shot and that Morales said, “I didn’t shoot nobody.”
The Police Department has said investigators found a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun near Morales, along with a partially loaded ammunition magazine.
Morales, a Sacramento resident, had a gun that was registered, and the only criminal record he had was a DUI from about 18 years ago, according to the family’s lawsuit.
The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that Morales could not have fired the shots Jarvis heard, since Morales’ pistol had a safety to prevent it from firing without the magazine in the gun.
The magazine was found 75 to 90 feet away. The family’s attorneys said none of the examined shell casings found at the scene were from Morales’ handgun. A gunshot residue test indicated that he had not fired a weapon, according to the the lawsuit.
