About

Jeremy Morse


Note: Source material is listed at the bottom of the page.

Many articles have been written about the Inglewood incident, but few of them have contained any personal information about Jeremy Morse. For good reason, he has stayed away from the mainstream media. However, friends and family members have come to his defense by appearing on talk shows and providing interviews.

As you will see, Jeremy Morse is hardly the monster that he has been made out to be. He is a beloved son and a respected brother and friend. He is a good police officer and is well thought of by his fellow officers. And most importantly, he is a human being.

Jeremy Morse has been described as a good child that grew up in the Pacific Northwest where he enjoyed a childhood of fishing, baseball and football. He was popular in school and active in a local Christian youth center where he would take younger students on rafting and skiing trips. During his senior year of high school, he moved to Southern California where his father lives, and graduated from high school in Torrance, California.

Jeremy Morse became a cadet with the Inglewood Police Department at the age of 18. He is currently a 3-year veteran. He had dreamed of becoming a police officer since he was a child. His stepfather, Roger Pettit, has said that Jeremy is devastated with the possibility of losing his job.

“He’s going to lose his life, his career, his dreams,” Pettit said in an interview with KCOP-TV in Los Angeles. “He has no future as it stands right now and that makes my heart really sad because nobody should ever have to deal with that.”

In regards to the accusations of racism, Mr. Pettit said that he is troubled by such remarks. “To see people talking about Jeremy as a racist, as a bigot, is so far from the truth, it just makes me angry,” he said. “Because you people don’t know Jeremy Morse. All you know is a videotape, a half videotape . . .”


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Detective Neil Murray, President of the Inglewood Police Officers Association has described Jeremy Morse as a solid and dedicated cop, firmly committed to his job and the community. He is respected by other officers and has done a good job. “His reputation is a solid one. Those who have worked with Jeremy have always been impressed with his level of professional police work.”

Det. Murray has also described Jeremy Morse as a “young man who has a real zeal and enthusiasm to go out and do proactive law enforcement.”


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On ABCNEWS’ Good Morning America, Jeremy Morse’s brother Shawn and his friend Matt Jones said that Jeremy Morse is a nice guy that is being hurt by a videotape that does not tell the whole story.

Matt Jones said that Jeremy Morse was a good cop and that he is upset about the way the arrest has been perceived.

“I know that he’s greived by this and it wasn’t his intention to shock the American public and be painted as a racist and all these other outlandish claims that have been said about him,” Jones said.

His brother Shawn feels that his brother’s actions were that of self-defense. “It’s obvious from the video, you can see that the suspect, Donovan Jackson, reaches back and grabs my brother’s testicles.”

“I know from what I’ve been told is that he was scratched behind the ear, my brother had some abrasions on his chest and on his neck during a struggle with Donovan Jackson,” Shawn said about the visible injuries that Jeremy Morse sustained during the preceding altercation.

SOURCE MATERIAL:

KCOP-TV, Los Angeles

Police officer’s family hopes investigation clears up facts

The San Diego Union-Tribune – Published July 16, 2002

Associated Press

www.signonsandiego.com

‘He’s Grieved by This’

ABCNEWS’ Good Morning America – July 18, 2002

www.abcNEWS.com

Washington Family Stands Behind Officer

The Oregonian – Published July 19, 2002

By: Maxine Bernstein

www.oregonlive.com

A Decade Later New Videotaped Beating by LA Police Sparks Outrage

Democratic Fundamentalism – Published July 10, 2002

By: Beth Shuster and Nora Zamichow/LA Times Staff Writers

Inglewood Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Assault of Teenager

Metropolitan News-Enterprise – Published July 19, 2002

By: MetNews Staff Writer