A rookie San Jose police officer who joined the agency after a San Jose State football career that took him from junior-college walk-on to lead running back died suddenly over the weekend, according to authorities.
DeJon Packer, 24, was found dead Sunday afternoon at his Milpitas home, according to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office and a law-enforcement source. The Milpitas Police Department’s press log shows that officers were called to the home for a report of a sudden death.
Additional details about the circumstances of Packer’s death were not immediately released. The coroner’s office stated that an official cause of death is still pending.
In response to an inquiry Monday morning, the San Jose Police Department said in a statement that “we can confirm we had on off duty officer death this weekend.” Officials declined to immediately comment further.
The San Jose State football team mourned Packer’s death Monday morning in a statement released on Twitter.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of DeJon Packer. The San José State Football family has suffered a great loss,” the statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with DeJon’s family & friends.”
A Houston native who moved to San Jose about a decade ago and graduated from Gunderson High School, Packer joined SJPD in February 2021 after graduating from a police academy that had been delayed by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Packer was a standout at Gunderson and initially attended San Jose City College before joining the San Jose State Spartans football team as a walk-on running back who would eventually lead the team in rushing yards and touchdowns in 2019, a season that included two game-winning runs against Arkansas and Fresno State.
It was because of his time with Spartan football that he had the encounter that would pave his post-athletic path. In an interview with this news organization, he said he was considering a nursing career when then-SJPD chief Eddie Garcia and other police officers visited the team to have a wide-ranging discussion about perceptions of police and the team’s experiences with law enforcement.
“It gave me a different outlook,” Packer said in the interview. “For me, it’s about wanting to be able to make a difference, and show kids in low-income areas, kids who look like me, they can do this job.”
Packer said that as a Black man, he approached his new career with the aim of bridging gaps in community trust.
“I embrace it and I know that it’s not going to be something easy. Some are going to see the badge and not see me for who I am,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the impact I’d be able to have on people just by doing good police service for them and being in my community.”
By all accounts in the police department, Packer was well regarded as a new officer and had worked a shift not long before he died.
Check back later for updates to this story.
We are deeply saddened by the news of DeJon Packer. The San José State Football family has suffered a great loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with DeJon’s family & friends.
Forever a Spartan. pic.twitter.com/Vyh8frZVAU
— San José State Football (@SanJoseStateFB) March 14, 2022
Source: www.mercurynews.com