A Sacramento judge has approved a $2 million settlement for the children of a man shot to death three years ago by a Sacramento police officer at an anti-gun boxing event.
The settlement comes on behalf of two children of Augustine Morales, a 38-year-old Sacramento man shot Nov. 14, 2020, outside a Juliesse Avenue warehouse where 400 to 600 people had gathered for an event called “Gunz Down Gloves Up: North Side Edition.”
The event was designed to bring young people together for a night of boxing and raise awareness of gun violence.
According to a lawsuit filed by lawyers Dale Galipo and Stewart Katz, Morales was present when a disturbance erupted about 8 p.m. and gunshots were heard inside.
“Morales approached the building holding his registered firearm,” the suit says. “His intentions were unknown.”
The suit says that police Sgt. Jeremiah Jarvis was monitoring the event from nearby when he heard the shots.
“After hearing a number of shots being fired in quick succession, Sgt. Jarvis jogged towards the space where the event was taking place with his firearm drawn,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Sacramento federal court in September 2021. “The rounds sounded as though they had been fired from the same weapon.
“Sgt. Jarvis caught a glimpse of a gun in Morales’ hands. Upon information and belief, Morales was not pointing the gun at anyone. Sgt. Jarvis did not, (and could not) have seen any indication that Morales had fired the rounds he had heard.
“Without giving or attempting to give even a single warning or command, Jarvis unloaded over a dozen rounds from the large capacity magazine of his personal Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistol at Morales from only a few feet away. He fired as he approached Morales from behind and kept firing as he moved in a circular path to left and around the stationary Morales.”
Morales died from his wounds, and the suit says there was no magazine in Morales’ 9 mm handgun and that he did not fire any shots that night.
“Had Sgt. Jarvis given any commands to Morales prior to his shooting him, it is a near certainty that Morales would still be alive,” the suit says.
City spokesman Tim Swanson did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday, but police said after the shooting that Morales had been pointing his gun at the crowd inside the warehouse.
Morales’ family sued the city and Jarvis, and the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England on Tuesday calls for payments to his two young sons for more than $2.06 million.
The city has agreed to pay a total of $2.4 million to settle the family’s lawsuits, Katz said, and Morales’ father issued a statement to The Bee saying he has forgiven Jarvis.
“This $2.4 million dollar settlement is recognition by the city of Sacramento of the fact that Augustine Morales was an innocent victim of a tragic situation and set of circumstances,” John Morales said. “The settlement will help provide both his life partner and their two boys with the living and educational opportunities that Augustine worked for and wanted for them.
“I was able to see and hear the officer testify about the unusual circumstances that led to the shooting and why he shot my son without any warning. Although our family cannot excuse the shooting, I was able to speak with the officer and forgave him after he finished his testifying.
“This is what my son would have done and would have wanted me to do. I believe the officer’s actions were motivated by good intentions but based on incorrect and inadequate information.
“Nevertheless the outcome was tragic and devastating for Augustine, his life partner and their two boys, his parents, and his many friends.”
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