OOPS

Police Department Uses Cop Accused of Murder as Poster Child in Recruitment Efforts

An Auburn police spokesperson said it was all a big mistake.

A banner featuring a cop accused of murder was used at a recruitment booth for the Auburn Police Department in Washington over the weekend, leaving the slain man’s family “appalled.” The banner encouraged potential recruits to “Join Team Auburn PD” and included a photo of Officer Jeff Nelson, who’s been charged in the shooting death of Jesse Sarey while responding to a “routine nuisance call” outside a market in 2019. “How can police officers sit in a recruiting booth right next to a poster showing an officer charged with murder?” Sarey’s foster mom, Elaine Simons, said. “It shows a total disregard to what’s going on around them.” Auburn Police spokesperson Kolby Crossley told The Seattle Times the banner, which was displayed on Saturday at a Pet Palooza event in a park, was “old and outdated” and it was a mistake to use it. “It was what we had,” Crossley added. “We won’t be using it ever again.”