Slain Baton Rouge Police Officer Montrell Jackson: ‘Please Don’t Let Hate Infect Your Heart’

Baton Rouge Police Officer Montrell Jackson was only 32-years-old when his life was cut short by shooter Gavin Long. Officer Jackson had been with the department for 10 years and had a heroic record and an excellent reputation in the community as an officer. He was once injured trying to save a toddler from a fire. Montrell had only recently become a father, and he is survived by a 4-month-old son, a wife, and a loving extended family, according to the Advocate .

Sunday, Baton Rouge Police Officers Montrell Jackson and Mathew Gerald and Deputy Brad Garafola were killed by gunman Gavin Long of Kansas City Missouri. It is now believed that Long set a trap for the officers who were responding to a call. The attack was, perhaps in the mind of the shooter, a response to the death of Alton Sterling, a black man, at the hands of Baton Rouge Police, according to the Daily Beast . Long, who was known online as Cosmo Setepenra, had a website called Convos with Cosmo , according to the New York Times . There were many references to the shooting of Alton Sterling on his site.

Officer Jackson’s sister-in-law speaks out for peace and an end to violence in the video below. She remembers Montrell as a “great man.”

The Baton Rouge Police Department and the community, family, and friends of Officer Montrell Jackson struggle to make sense of his death. He was a hero and beloved by many. His friend Darnell Murdock expressed his shock at the injustice of Jackson’s death to the Advocate .

“It motivated him to go out and change people’s lives. He was on (the force) to help people, to make you have a better day. He was humble, kind and sweet… I don’t understand how this could happen to someone like him.”

Baton Rouge Police Officer Montrell Jackson had also been struggling with injustice prior to his own death, according to AJC . He had a sense of being judged within his own community and department after the shootings for something he had no control over. He was in the midst of a controversy that he felt had left him disenfranchised by both sides. A few days before his death, he turned to Facebook to express his distress.

“I’m tired physically and emotionally. Disappointed in some family, friends, and officers for some reckless comments but hey what’s in your heart is in your heart. I still love you because hate takes too much energy but I definitely won’t be looking at you the same. Thank you to everyone that has reached out to me or my wife it was needed and much appreciated. I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if it loves me. In uniform, I get nasty hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat.”

Baton Rouge Police Officer Montrell Jackson expressed emotions of hurt and betrayal by those he thought he knew and who suddenly didn’t seem to know him as well as he thought they did. The city was his home, yet he was judged not only by the color of his skin but also the color of his uniform. He was a black man in blue, and as others have attested, that isn’t always easy. Officer Montrell Jackson continued his post on Facebook.

“I’ve experienced so much in my short life and these last 3 days have tested me to the core. When people you know begin to question your integrity you realize they don’t really know you at all. Look at my actions they speak LOUD and CLEAR. Finally, I personally Want to Send prayers out to everyone directly affected by this tragedy. These are trying times. Please don’t let hate infect your heart. The city MUST and WILL get better. I’m working in these streets so any protesters, officers, friends family, or whoever, if you see me and need a hug or want to say a prayer, I got you.”

Baton Rouge Police Officer Montrell Jackson felt he was being held responsible for a situation that was out of his control. He was caught up in the middle of what turned into an armed conflict. How is it that this sweet and gentle man, a hero, died at the hands of an angry shooter?

Perhaps Dallas Police Chief David Brown, also a black police officer, can understand Officer Jackson’s position better than most. Since the Dallas shooting of 14 people, which took the lives of five Dallas Police Officers, Chief Brown and his family have received death threats. Other Dallas officers have received threats as well.

Dallas and Baton Rouge Police officers have been attacked. In both cases, the lone shooters were former military and targeted police. Black officers are caught in the middle of this issue and suffering tremendous pressure from their communities, according to Officer Jackson’s Facebook message.

Baton Rouge Police Officer Montrell Jackson was a black hero wearing blue, but few could understand the strain of his position in the weeks leading up to his death.

[Photo by Baton Rouge Police Dept./AP Images]