According to testimony at his trial, Nelson ignored his training and moved to arrest Sarey by himself, resulting in a scuffle that ended when Nelson shot Sarey in the belly at point-blank range. Testimony and video showed that as Sarey slumped to the ground, Nelson cleared a malfunction in his handgun, looked around and then shot Sarey a second time in the head.

“Using unnecessary violence was nothing new for Nelson,” Eakes wrote, noting Phelps had already concluded during an earlier ruling that Nelson had a pattern of using violence “during routine and nonthreatening situations when someone showed him disrespect or failed to acknowledge his authority.”

Sarey was Nelson’s third fatal shooting as an Auburn officer. The city has paid about $6 million to settle claims against Nelson, including $4 million to Sarey’s family.