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Omaha police officers have been accused of using excessive force when responding to racial discrimination protests this summer.
Protesters in Omaha reportedly took to the streets in May, June and July to protest racial discrimination, excessive force by police and the death of Black Americans like George Floyd. Despite the protests being largely peaceful, protesters have allegedly been hit with excessive force and unlawful arrests.
According to the racial discrimination lawsuit, protesters were reportedly hit with pepper balls, tear gas and other crowd-control methods despite the protests being lawful. The protesters call these methods “excessive” and note that many protesters have been harmed by less-lethal ammunition and chemical agents.
For the most part, the protests were peaceful.
In late May, there was an altercation between protesters and Omaha residents that resulted in the death of a protester. This scuffle was reportedly the result of several thousand people demonstrating at the same time — leading to isolated instances of vandalism and violence.
However, the plaintiffs note the majority of protesters have peacefully demonstrated against excessive force and racial discrimination. Despite this, police officers allegedly used excessive force to suppress peaceful protestors.
“[I]n the absence of violence or an imminent threat of violence, police deployed tear gas canisters, pepper balls, and flash bang grenades to disperse the crowd,” the lawsuit recounts.
“Despite knowledge of the extreme danger of severe and permanent injury from shooting pepper balls at people, Omaha Police indiscriminately fired pepper balls directly at protestors at close, or even point-blank, range.”
In the first half of 2020, the Omaha police used pepper ball guns 157 times, the Omaha World-Herald reports. This number reportedly exceeds the amount pepper ball guns have been used in the past seven years combined.
Similarly, chemical agents such as tear gas and pepper spray were reportedly used 37 times so far this year — more than full-year totals in the last seven years.
According to the protesters’ racial discrimination lawsuit, these methods were not justified. Omaha police officers allegedly chose to use excessive force against protesters without first trying to make their orders to disperse known without violence.
On top of this alleged excessive force, racial discrimination protesters were reportedly subjected to unlawful arrests which exposed them to an increased risk of the COVID-19 virus.
For example, on July 25, more than 100 people were reportedly detained as part of a mass arrest. Protesters, legal observers and even journalists were allegedly told they would be arrested for “unlawful assembly”, “failure to disperse” and “obstructing a highway.”
When asked about these charges July 29, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer reportedly said, “Public streets are not forums for protesting.”
According to the racial discrimination protest lawsuit, police officers then endangered protesters by keeping them in close quarters at Douglas County Jail despite the risks for virus transmission and subsequent serious health consequences of COVID-19.
The racial discrimination lawsuit challenges several other practices at Omaha protests, including protesters allegedly being seized and forced into unmarked vans by federal agents.
Overall, the plaintiffs say the actions against Omaha protesters were unlawful and unconstitutional.
“The answer to protests against police brutality shouldn’t be more brutality,” ACLU of Nebraska executive director Danielle Conrad told the Star Herald. “Omaha Police have put Black Omahans and all Omahans calling for justice in the unacceptable position of deciding between their constitutional rights and their own health and safety.”
The protesters and Progressive Black-Led Ally Coalition or ProBLAC — an organization against racial discrimination — have asked the court for injunctive relief enjoining the Omaha Police Department from several unlawful practices. This includes the practices of declaring a peaceful political assembly to be unlawful and the use of excessive force through chemical agents and less lethal weapons.
Despite allegations against the city and its officers, Omaha City Attorney Paul Kratz reportedly maintains the officials acted lawfully.
“Omaha has always been supportive of free speech and public demonstrations and will continue to do so,” Kratz said, according to 1011 Now.
“The police make every effort to cooperate and protect demonstrators as long as they obey the law and police commands.”
Have you participated in the nationwide protests against racial discrimination and excessive force? Have you been otherwise affected by these demonstrations? Tell us your story in the comment section below.
Plaintiffs in the excessive force lawsuit are represented by Adam J. Sipple of the ACLU of Nebraska, along with Daniel H. Friedman and Stephen A. Sael of Friedman Law Offices PC LLO.
The Omaha Racial Discrimination Protest Lawsuit is ProBLAC, et al. v. City of Omaha, et al., Case No. 8:20-cv-00400-MDN, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska.
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