More Omaha police fired in ‘caught on tape’ case
Joe Jordan | Nebraska Watchdog
Just days after a federal lawsuit accused Omaha police of excessive force in a widely publicized (see video below) “caught on tape” tape case, two more officers have been fired bringing the total to six.
33rd and Seward, March 21, 2013
The latest firings came Wednesday and Thursday, according to a statement from Omaha police.
“As I have previously stated, we did not carry ourselves in a manner representative of the Omaha Police Department in this incident,” said Police Chief Todd Schmaderer.
Last March 21 a routine parking problem near 33rd and Seward in North Omaha escalated into a must-see six minute recording.
The video—shot by a member of the public— shows a police officer (see video below) throwing a man to the ground and hitting him several times, while a dozen other officers storm a home across the street.
Juaquez and Demetrius Johnson, their mother Sharon and two other family members.
“A parking ticket turned into officers storming my house and me being thrown to the ground and put into a chokehold,” said Octavius Johnson.
“Pulling over twenty officers away from other parts of the city should sound an alarm for taxpayers,” says Amy Miller of the ACLU who filed the suit Monday.
But citing a national accreditation award issued to OPD in November, Schmaderer sees lessons learned.
“I am confident in saying the Omaha Police Department is a better department in the aftermath of this incident,” said the chief.
The first four firings came within a few weeks of the incident. One of those four has appealed his firing, a ruling is pending.
The last two officers are awaiting a pre-termination hearing.
Contact Joe Jordan at joe@nebraskawatchdog.org and listen to Joe every Monday morning at 7:40 on KFAB radio in Omaha.
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