The Sacramento Police Department released body cam footage that shows the tense standoff between officers and Jeremy Southern before he was shot and killed.
According to police, officers went to the upscale Crossings apartment complex near Sacramento State University on Tuesday afternoon to follow up on an earlier shooting there.
Police spotted Southern who matched the description of the shooter walking with a female acquaintance. When Southern spotted police, he ran toward the building.
Unable to gain entry to the apartment building through a locked door, Southern, 22, pulled a handgun and pointed it at police.
Despite repeated commands to drop the weapon, Southern continued to point the weapon at them. “I’m gonna die today!” he yelled at police while pacing in the courtyard.
Officers showed great restraint by attempting to deescalate the situation. At one point, they even waited for him to finish a phone call before commanding him to drop his weapon.
A police sniper arrived at the scene about 20 minutes later and fired an AR-15 rifle, striking Southern in the chest.
Despite a sucking wound in his chest, Southern tried to crawl toward his gun and was shot a second time.
Sacramento police and fire rescue tended to him and transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead from suicide by cop.
Southern’s sister, Ida Southern, said her brother was a good man. “He wanted a better life and I feel like life just kept taking away from him,” she said.
“I’m just worried about my daughter because they were so close,” Southern said.
“No, he was not completely innocent, but this was not what was supposed to happen to him,” she said, adding that her brother grew up in a home with six foster siblings and may not have gotten the love and attention a child needs.
Ida Southern was planning on celebrating her brother’s 23rd birthday with him this Friday, according to KCRA. Instead, she will attend a vigil in his honor on Thursday night hosted by Black Lives Matter Sacramento.
“We’re gonna be marching for another young black man that’s been killed by Sac PD,” said BLM Sacramento founder Tanya Faison.
Faison said Tuesday’s shooting is another example where police should be held accountable.
“I think if he had a gun, that he should have been detained. They should have deescalated and he should have gotten his due process,” Faison said. “There have been situations where Sac PD has been faced with gunfire and they have been able to deescalate and arrest somebody and given them their due process. The police do not play the judge, the jury. They don’t play the executioner. Their job is to deescalate and detain.”
Ida Southern said she doesn’t know if her brother had a gun that day.
“He was scared. For somebody who goes through as much as we went through, he was scared. He wouldn’t have just had it out and about,” she said. “If he really had a gun like they say he did, then of course he has some of the blame to share.”
Court records show Jeremy Southern had a lengthy criminal record that included a domestic violence conviction. He served four years in prison for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14.
“He wasn’t this monster that everybody’s trying to make him out to be,” Ida said. “Not only did he grow up going through abuse, but as a young adult, he didn’t have anybody that was able to help him either. I did everything I could, but it still wasn’t enough.”
WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE THAT MAY BE DISTURBING.
