Officer killed in La. nephew of ex-UM assistant coach

A police officer killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sunday was the nephew of an Ypsilanti High head football coach and former longtime Michigan assistant coach.

Fred Jackson, a native of Baton Rouge, confirmed his nephew, Montrell Jackson, had been killed and indicated he was too shaken to talk about him. Montrell Jackson is the son of Fred Jackson’s younger brother.

Two other Baton Rouge officers investigating a report of a man with an assault rifle just before 9 a.m. Sunday were killed and three other officers were wounded, one critically. The gunman was killed in an incident less than two weeks after a black man was fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge and as tensions rise across the country between black communities and police.

Another relative, Josh Jackson, who is Fred Jackson’s son and a quarterback at Virginia Tech, posted a message Sunday on Twitter about his cousin.

“Rest in peace to my cousin Montrell Jackson who was one of the policeman that was killed. #PrayForBatonRouge”

There has been an outpouring of support on Twitter and various social media for the Jackson family.

According to the Advocate in Baton Rouge, Jackson, 32, was a 10-year-veteran of the Police Department. He and his wife recently welcomed a son.

Three days after the killing of Alton B. Sterling in Baton Rouge and the police killings in Dallas, Jackson took to Facebook to share his experiences.

“I’m tired physically and emotionally,” he wrote. “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 this city loves me. In uniform I get nasty hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat.

“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 … These are trying times. Please don’t let hate infect your heart. This 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.”

The Associated Press contributed.