Crime in Omaha, Nebraska

Crime rates (2004)
Crime type	Rate [1]
Homicide	20
Forcible rape	187
Robbery	824
Aggravated assault	615.3
Violent crime	2608
Burglary	3641
Larceny-theft	15490
Motor vehicle theft	3405
Property crime	22536
^ Crime rates per Source: FBI 2004 UCR data Compare with other cities?

Crime in Omaha, Nebraska has varied widely, ranging from the city's early years as a frontier town with typically widespread gambling and prostitution, to civic expectation of higher standards as the city grew, and contemporary concerns about homicides related to gangs and dysfunctions of persistent unemployment, poverty and lack of education among some residents.

As a major industrial city in the early to mid-20th century, Omaha shared in social tensions of larger cities that accompanied rapid growth and many new immigrant and migrants. In the mid-20th century, it shared in dramatic job losses and unemployment attendant to restructuring of railroads and the meatpacking industry, as well as other industries. While the larger economy of the city and region have recovered, some residents have been left behind, and both suffer and generate more violent crime. Issues related to assimilation of newer immigrants have arisen as separate concerns.

Persistent poverty resulting from discrimination and job loss generated different crimes in late 20th century Omaha. Drug trade and abuse became highly associated with violent crime rates, which spiked in the 1980s and early 1990s in some parts of the city.

Since then, crime has been reduced for the city overall. In 2005 Omaha was ranked 47th out of the largest 68 cities in the United States for crime, making it quite a safe city for most inhabitants.

History

Early crime

Omaha had an early history as a "wide open town" where prostitution, gambling, drugs and alcohol were accepted. There were no official law enforcement officers until after the city was incorporated. On February 12, 1857, the city of Omaha was incorporated and in March J.A. Miller was appointed the City Marshall. In March 1866, the city council enlarged the police "force" to four men. Prostitution was a brisk trade in early Omaha, and sex workers in the Burnt District numbered 1,500 by the 1870s.

In 1868, the City Council created the position of "Police Judge" and appointed John H. Sahler. Later that year, the City Council directed members of the force to provide themselves with "dark blue, single breasted coats, shirts and pants of the same material. They were required to have caps with a brass plate in the front marked City Police." Between 1869 and 1882 the size of the department fluctuated, reaching 14 officers in 1882. In 1884, Marshal Roger T. Guthrie was convicted and imprisoned for accepting a bribe.

Early years of land grabs by the Omaha Claim Club were thwarted by the 1857 trial of Baker v. Morton, where the United States Supreme Court ruled that Omaha's land barons could not claim up large amounts of land in order to sell them at exorbitant costs. This stopped homesteading in the area. While the common practice ended, early land grabs were fruitful. Lots in one of the early plots were subdivided to form Scriptown, where Territorial legislators were awarded with land for keeping the controversial capital in Omaha.

Because of the lack of police force, in early years groups sometimes resorted to lynchings, as elements of the community enforced their own rough "justice". Victims were likely to be outsiders, transient workers or laborers who did not live in the city, whom no one knew. In the West and South, victims were lynched for alleged crimes of property as well as of violence. In 1891 there was the first recorded lynching in Omaha of an African American. A mob lynched George Smith, a worker from Council Bluffs across the river. He had allegedly raped a white woman. No one was tried for Coe's murder.

At the turn of the century, Madame Anna Wilson ran a high-class brothel in the Sporting District, the vice district run by political boss Tom Dennison. During the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898, Ada Everleigh and her sister ran a high-class bordello to make a profit from the many visitors to the city. They closed their operation soon after the Expo and moved to the bigger environs of Chicago.

In 1900 the city and country closely followed the kidnapping of 16-year-old Edward Cudahy Jr.. After the boy's father, a meatpacking magnate, paid ransom, Edward Cudahy, Jr. was safely returned. Police and officials in Omaha and other cities were concerned that the payment of ransom would set an unfortunate precedent for other cases. Although the kidnappers were caught several years later, both were acquitted, in part because Nebraska didn't have a statute relating directly to kidnapping. One of the kidnappers, Pat Crowe, became somewhat of a folk hero for this crime and robberies, even appearing as a speaker about them.

Tom Dennison's political machine

Main article: Tom Dennison (political boss)

Early in the 1890s Tom Dennison, a gambler and saloon-owner from Colorado and Montana, arrived in Omaha and established a base of political power. He took control of most of the vice elements in the city. For more than 25 years, Dennison's power was so great that he controlled crime in the city, the police reported to him daily, and a mayor answered directly to him. The Dennison political machine ended in 1935 after he died. During his reign, Dennison kept an office at the Budweiser Saloon in the Sporting District, where he looked after his interests.

20th century changes

Main article: Omaha Race Riot of 1919

On September 28, 1919, the Omaha Race Riot erupted, one of many race riots that occurred in cities that year, reflecting common postwar economic stress and social tensions. In Omaha, Tom Denison fanned tensions through sensational news accounts to build his own political power. The immediate cause of the riot was the arrest of 41-year-old Will Brown, an African-American Omaha citizen, on charges that he had raped a young white woman. The newspaper had contended a rash of attacks had occurred.

A mob of white men, led by volatile adolescents, gathered at the Douglas County Courthouse, their numbers growing by the hour. They threatened grabbing Brown as vigilantes. They lynched Omaha Mayor Edward Smith as he tried to prevent the mob from taking Brown. The mayor was rescued by Omaha Police, but they couldn't control the mob. The men set fire to the Courthouse while trying to flush out Brown and police officers trying to protect him and numerous other prisoners. They lynched Brown after he was turned over to them and then attacked other parts of the city. Utterly unable to control the situation, the city asked for help from the United States Army. By September 29, the Army had declared martial law, enforcing it with 1,700 soldiers from nearby Fort Omaha, Camp Funston (part of present day Fort Riley, Kansas) and Camp Dodge, Iowa. [2] No further loss of life occurred after Brown was lynched.

Historians attributed the Omaha Race Riot of 1919 directly to Dennison's influence. After his candidate for mayor lost the election, Denison worked to gain control by some other means. Acting in collusion with the Omaha Bee, a tabloid newspaper, Dennison heightened tensions of the city's World War I veterans and others by sensationalizing apparent increases in attacks on women by African American men. (Later investigations showed many attacks had been made by Dennison's white thugs dressed in black face.) The riot brought an end to the mayorship of Dennison's opponent. No one was convicted of any crime in the lynching.

Prohibition

During the 1920s and 30s, Little Italy was the center of crimes associated with the manufacture, distribution, and competition over profits of bootleg liquor during Prohibition. Little Italy native Tony Biase was the "leading Mafioso in Omaha" from the Prohibition through the 1970s.

Safety measures

In 1923, the police created a separate motor force unit. "Pill boxes" were installed throughout the city. Some pill boxes were still in service in 2005. Theories of policing have alternated between the use of vehicle units and more community-based patrols.

Also in 1923, the police department established the first safety patrolin the United States, chiefly to ensure children negotiated increased vehicle traffic safely as they walked to and from school.

Current Issues

In 2007 there was an increase in crime and gang-related shootings in Omaha. In June 2007, there was a shooting every day of the month. Some labeled Omaha "the most dangerous place in the Heartland." Compared to other major cities, it is still very safe. Despite the shootings, the state legislature has not changed its position in opposing gun control. Given the ease of gun acquisitions, the Omaha Police Department has not been able to curb gun-related crime.[[Fact|18 December 2007}}

While gun-related, the single event with the most fatalities in recent years was due to a loner gunman. On December 5, 2007, a young man with a history of drug abuse and social problems shot at random in Westroads Mall. He wounded six people, killed eight, and killed himself there.

Police killings

Omaha Police Station located at 505 South 15th Street.

Larry Minard

Main article: Rice/Poindexter Case

Officer Larry Minard was killed on August 17, 1970 by a bomb placed by members of the Black Panther Party. The Omaha Police Department was heavily involved in the FBI's COINTELPRO operation, and using evidence from COINTELPRO, and from the confession of Duane Peak, Panthers David Rice (now known as Mondo we Langa) and Ed Poindexter were convicted for Minard's death and are currently serving life sentences. The guilt of the two has been questioned, and Amnesty International has released reports criticising the prosecutions actions in the Rice/Poindexter Case.

Jimmy Wilson, Jr.

On August 21, 1995, 24 year old Omaha Police Officer Jimmy Wilson Jr. was shot to death by Kevin Allen, a member of the South Family Bloods street gang. Wilson initiated a traffic stop of Allen's van, when Allen opened the rear doors and opened fire with an SKS semiautomatic assault rifle. Wilson was found dead in his cruiser with his seatbelt still on and his radio in his hand. [3] Allen was convicted of first degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony and was sentenced to life in prison. Wilson's death led to the creation (by his father, Jimmy Wilson Sr.) of the Jimmy Wilson Jr. Foundation, a non-profit organization which assisted area law-enforcement agencies with purchasing body armor and dashboard cameras for cruisers.

Jason Tye Pratt

On September 11, 2003 30 year old Officer Jason Tye Pratt pulled a vehicle over at 10:30 p.m. for speeding and erratic driving. The driver of the vehicle was 21 year old Albert Rucker, a fugitive wanted by police on two felony warrants and who had been recently featured on Omaha's version of a "Most Wanted" television show, Crimestoppers. Rucker had 141 arrests on his record [4] by that time and was a gang member that went by the street name of "Twigs." When Rucker pulled over, he got out of his vehicle and fled the scene. The Officer who stopped Rucker pursued him on foot into a neighborhood. Pratt then assisted the other Officers at the scene searching for Rucker. While Pratt walked down the street towards a bush that Rucker was hiding behind, Rucker shot Pratt in the head, at close range with a 45 caliber handgun. Rucker then engaged backup Officer Frank Platt in a shootout in which he was mortally wounded by Platt. Rucker died four hours later in the hospital. Officer Pratt died 8 days later on September 19.

The incident gained national attention. On a visit to Omaha with Pratt's widow, Stacy, and his family, US Attorney General John Ashcroft stated "the justice system had failed Pratt and her two daughters" after it was learned that Rucker appeared before the same Douglas County District Judge, Sandra Dougherty, since 1999, who continuously lowered Rucker's bond each time appeared before her. Rucker was arrested in 1999 for a shooting and was apprehended wearing a bullet proof vest. His sentence, handed down by Dougherty, was three years probation.

Controversies

Similar to many law enforcement agencies around the United States, Omaha Police has had their share of controversies, allegations of racially motivated excessive force, politicking and nepotism. Not all instances of officer shootings involving Omaha Police have involved white officers and minority suspects, however several incidents have led to strained relations between the department and the African-American community.

Marvin Ammons Shooting

During routine patrol on October 26, 1997, Officer Todd Sears shot and killed Marvin Ammons. Sears, a white police officer, thought Ammons, an African American Gulf War veteran, was reaching for a gun in his belt when he (Sears) drew his weapon and opened fire. Ammons was speaking on a cell phone when officers first observed him standing on a snow covered street with his car blocking the road.

A grand jury was called in accordance to Nebraska law which requires a grand jury investigate any death that occurs while a subject is in police custody. The grand jury indicted Sears on charges of manslaughter, however the indictment was thrown out due to juror misconduct. A second grand jury cleared Sears of all charges, however criticized Omaha Police in their handling of the incident, noting that (1)Ammons' cell phone was found in Sears' cruiser the day after the shooting; (2) drug and alcohol testing was not performed on the officers at the scene, including Sears, in accordance with policy; (3) Sears' cruiser was not impounded. [5] A lawsuit against the City of Omaha and Sears was brought by the Ammons family but was later dropped. Sears left the department on a disability pension, claiming post traumatic stress disorder.

George Bibbins Shooting

On July 19, 2000, after a high speed chase involving a stolen Jeep, Officer Jerad Kruse shot and killed the driver, 46 year old George Bibbins. Kruse, a white officer, stated he observed Bibbins, an African-American citizen, reaching down after the Jeep was forced to a stop when he opened fire. Bibbins was found dead with a screwdriver in his hand.

The incident was investigated by a grand jury and Kruse was cleared of any wrongdoing, which led to outrage not only in the African-American community, but also among fellow African-American Omaha Police Officers. This incident, along with the Marvin Ammons shooting, led to a strained relationship between the department and the Omaha African-American community. Kruse, like Sears, also left the department with a disability pension.

Officer Tariq Al-Amin

At a memorial service for Albert Rucker (see Omaha Police history in this article), Bishop William Barlowe offered the family of Officer Jason Tye Pratt a check for $100 to add to the Pratt Family Assistance Fund in the name of Rucker's children. During the memorial service for Rucker, Barlowe said, "We have two sets of kids who will be aligned forever because of this incident."

Omaha Police Officer Tariq Al-Amin, while hosting the cable access television show Protecting the Village, angrily reacted, stating "This would be my gift to the Rucker children," while brandishing a straight razor. "When you get old enough, come get it and cut Barlowe's throat for doing something like that in your name."

After the program was reviewed by Police Chief Thomas Warren, he terminated Al-Amin with the justification that Al-Amin threatened Barlowe. Al-Amin, citing his First Amendment rights appealed to the City Personnel Board, and with backing and support of the Omaha Chapter of the NAACP, the Coalition Against Injustice, Black Men United, and Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network. [6] Al-Amin was reinstated by the personnel board on February 26, 2004. Al-Amin was given the maximum suspension without pay allowed by the contract with the police union. He also was required to publicly apologize before being allowed to return to work. Al-Amin has since retired.

Sergeant Kevin Housh

In an article published in The Shield, the Omaha Police Union Newsletter, regarding a dispute between Mayor Mike Fahey and Chief Warren regarding recording police response times, Union Treasurer and Police Sergeant Kevin Housh wrote "(It is) backpedaling by the mayor's office. It's embarrassing quite truthfully. A bunch of grown men and women, supposedly leaders, acting like petty criminals trying to conceal some kind of crime." He further wrote "Quite simply they are lying to you and insulting your intelligence at the same time." After a review of his comments, Chief Warren terminated Housh, saying his statements were "inflammatory, derogatory and inaccurate." Warren further stated "the statements represented gross disrespect and insubordination and were in violation of Omaha Police Department policies and procedures."

Housh appealed his termination to the City Personnel Board and filed a lawsuit against Warren, Mayor Mike Fahey, and the City of Omaha in U.S. District Court alleging a violation of his First Amendment rights. Many Omaha Police Officers supported Housh, along with the Police Union, feeling his editorial was correct and that the decision to terminate him was politically motivated. Before the case reached the City Personnel Board or Federal Court, Housh reached an agreement with Warren. Housh was allowed to get his job back and was given a suspension without pay and also had to publicly apologize. Housh, a married father of five, agreed, stating he had to do what was best for his family. Housh was reinstated on May 1, 2005, 10 days before the Omaha Mayoral Election.

Racial tension

Omaha Police horsebarn located at South Seventh and Leavenworth Streets.

Main article: Racial tension in Omaha, Nebraska

Long the location of racial tension, Omaha recently re-emerged in headlines when a local grocery store was firebombed by racists. On February 18, 2007 unknown assailants robbed, firebombed, and spray painted a racial slur on the side of Bob's Market in East Omaha . A long-time community institution, Bob's has been owned by an Ethiopian immigrant for several years. There are reports that this is not the first time the store has been targeted by terrorism. The store owner escaped bound and gagged before the building exploded and was uninjured; the blast and following fire destroyed the building. Police are investigating.

Omaha's history of racial tension extends at least to 1891, when a large white mob lynched an African American named George Smith for "leering at a white woman." This event was reinforced by the psychological effect of a second lynching of Willy Brown, a black man, in 1919, which after the intervention of the National Guard ensured the normalcy of informal racial segregation throughout the city.

In the first part of the 20th century, after a police office caught an older Greek man being intimate with an older teenage "American" girl in February 1904, an anti-Greek mob terrorized "Greek Town", an enclave of South Omaha. After beating, looting and rioting through the community the terrorists forced the entire population of hundreds of Greek immigrants to leave the city within one day.

This racial tension parallels the 1960s race riots in North Omaha, activities leading to the Rice/Poindexter Case and ongoing gang violence affecting the entire city from the 1980s to present.

See also

• Gun politics
• Government in Omaha

External links

• Crime Statistics. Omaha Police Department
• Beerman, B.J. (2004) Where the hell is Omaha? Article tells the story of Omaha's organized crime scene, including roles for various ethnic groups.