Montrell Jackson, 32, was one of three Baton Rouge police officers shot and killed on Sunday in what has been described a targeted shooting of police officers. When the shooting ended, three police officers were dead and three others injured, one fighting for his life. The shooter, later identified as former Marine Gavin Long, was shot and killed by police.
Jackson, an African American, made the Facebook post three days after the shooting death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. Sterling was outside a store when police received reports he had a gun and had threatened someone. Video showed two white police officers pinning him down when one yells, “He has a gun.” Shots then rang out, killing the 37-year-old black man.
The day after Sterling died, Philando Castile, another black man, was shot and killed by a police officer in Minnesota. These two shootings not only set off protests throughout the United States but are believed to have been the reason for the killing of five police officers and the wounding of six more in Dallas and the Baton Rouge shooting of police officers.
While Jackson does not mention these two shootings in his Facebook post, the post was clearly a result of the shootings of Sterling and Castile. In his post, Jackson talks about the difficulty of being both a black man and a police officer in the city of Baton Rouge.
Jackson wrote he was disappointed with some comments made by friends, family and other officers but said “I still love you,” adding it takes too much to hate. The late officer also thanked people who reached out to him and his family.
Jackson also wrote he loves Baton Rouge but wonders if the city loves him. He said he gets nasty looks while in uniform and even out of uniform, many consider him to be a threat. After sending prayers to all those affected by this tragedy (the killing of Sterling), he also said Baton Rouge “MUST and WILL get better.” He closed by writing if anyone sees him on the street; family, friends, protesters or others, if they “need a hug or or want to say a prayer, I got you.”
Jackson was a 10-year veteran of the Baton Rouge Police Department. The Advocate reports in 2007, Jackson was injured trying to rescue a toddler from a burning building. The officer’s friends described him as “humble, kind and sweet;” someone who wanted to help people. He was also described as “a great police officer.”
Jackson leaves behind a wife and a four-month old son.
