Though it is sadly commonplace these days, I always find it jarring when you hear a police officer is involved in committing a crime. It’s beyond hypocritical, and there is something so sinister about it. How is someone who is supposed to uphold the law so comfortable with breaking it? How is it possible that a person who took oaths, trained, studied for months, and pledged to join the force to help people gets so off course? Although there are plenty of “good ones,” the “bad ones” tend to spoil the whole bunch. Unfortunately, a community in Sacramento, California, is grappling with just that after learning what a former deputy reportedly did to his own child.
Former Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy Marvin Morales is suspected of stabbing his 11-year-old son on December 2, 2025. According to People, the boy’s mother called police after she witnessed the stabbing via security cameras around 8 a.m. The couple’s 6-year-old daughter was home at the time too but unharmed. Elk Grove police officers found the boy with stab wounds and took him to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Morales had left the scene by the time police arrived and was seen heading south on Interstate 5, according to the New York Post. The chase ended in a crash near Lodi after the California Highway Patrol deployed a spike strip. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, where Morales was fired from in 2024, shared in a statement online that after the crash, two officers from their squad as well as officers from other agencies fired at Morales. He was hit and taken to a hospital and declared dead.
People were utterly outraged at the entire scenario in the comments on the social media post and heartbroken for the mom and her young daughter.
“Answering a call to find a child is a victim of such a horrible crime is just devastating and to realize it was the father has to be one of the worst calls to arrive at,” empathized one follower. “Prayers for the 11 yr old child and also the 6 yr old and mom. I hope the responding officers get sufficient counseling for a long time to come. God be with all responding to this tragedy today.”
“I seen the video of this guy Overdosing which lead to him being fired,” claimed another commenter. “If he were charged for buying, stealing, & using drugs while on duty this most likely could have been avoided. If that were a non police officer they would be still locked up right now.”
In February 2024, Morales reportedly confiscated what he believed was methamphetamine from a suspect and went and smoked it in the station’s bathroom, NBC News reported, per People. He ended up overdosing on what was actually fentanyl. He submitted a letter of resignation but was ultimately fired for the incident.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s office confirmed that the California Highway Patrol is investigating the shooting of Morales and what caused it to happen. For the time being, the two officers have been put on administrative leave.
