GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — One of the three candidates in the running to be Grand Rapids Police Department’s next chief was involved in a deadly shooting in 1997.
Jutiki Jackson served with the Milwaukee Police Department for 26 years.
An article from the Chicago Tribune from 1997 reports Jackson was involved in a shooting that left a suspect dead.
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According to the article, Jackson was involved in a traffic stop on Nov. 1. James Rey Guerrero ran from the car during the traffic stop.
The article states that some witnesses said they saw Jackson shoot Guerrero while he was on the ground. According to the article, witnesses testified that Guerrero did not struggle with the officer.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Jackson told the jury the shooting was accidental and that it went off as he and the suspect struggled.
An inquest jury heard testimony that gave different versions of what happened but ultimately decided the shooting was accidental. The article states that prosecutors followed the recommendation of the inquest jury not to charge Jackson in the fatal shooting.
At the time, Jackson was an officer with the Milwaukee Police Department. After ten years as an officer, Jackson was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant and then captain as a 7th District Commander. In 2016 he was promoted to inspector and became a member of the police chief’s executive command team. He eventually retired from the force and joined the National Basketball Association as a security director in 2019.
We reached out to Grand Rapids officials about Jackson’s deadly 1997 shooting and received the following statement:
“Our search firm has thoroughly vetted each candidate as part of the selection process. They did make the City aware of a use of force incident from 25 years ago involving Mr. Jackson that resulted in the loss of life of a 22-year-old man which a local inquest jury determined was accidental. The incident did not hinder Mr. Jackson from having a distinguished 27-year law enforcement career where he was widely praised for his community centric approach to policing. All the candidates will be in town on Wednesday so that the community may hear from each of them concerning their backgrounds and qualifications.”
