Omaha Police Department - History

History

In 1868, the position of "Police Judge" was created and John H. Sahler was appointed to fill that role. Later that same 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 until it grew steadily from 14 officers starting in 1882.

In 1884, Marshal Roger T. Guthrie was convicted and imprisoned for accepting a bribe.

In 1891, an African American man named Joe Coe was lynched in downtown Omaha after being accused of raping a white child. Despite conflicting reports from the child, her parents and the community, a mob dragged Smith from the Omaha jail and hung him from a streetcar line nearby.

In 1909 the South Omaha Police Department requested assistance from the Omaha Police Department to protect the life of a prisoner accused of dating a "white" woman; the prisoner was Greek. When large mobs descended from Omaha into Greek Town, located just south of the Omaha border, OPD officers did nothing to intervene. As a result a large community was burnt to the ground.

On September 28, 1919, the Omaha Race Riot occurred, one of many race riots happening in many cities around the United States that year. The riot stemmed over allegations against 41 year old Will Brown, an African-American Omaha citizen, of raping 19 year old Agnes Loebeck, a white woman, at gunpoint. Brown was arrested and brought to the Douglas County Courthouse to face charges, however a white mob began to gather with the intent of taking out vigilante justice on Brown. Omaha Mayor Edward Smith was lynched while trying to prevent an angry crowd from taking Brown, although he ultimately survived the ordeal after being rescued by Omaha Police detectives Al Anderson, Charles Van Deusen, Lloyd Toland and Russell Norgard. Brown was surrendered to the mob under mysterious circumstances and was dragged out into the street and brutally lynched. His body riddled with bullets from the rioters while hanging in front of the Douglas County Courthouse in downtown Omaha and burned to near ashes. The Courthouse itself was gutted by fire as a result of the rioters' prior attempts to flush out Brown and the police officers attempting to protect him.

After lynching Brown, the mob moved to a nearby police station to lynch black prisoners being held there. Fortunately for the prisoners, they were released by a police captain when word of Brown's lynching spread. Unable to control the situation, Omaha Police requested assistance from the United States Army, and by September 29, 1,700 soldiers were deployed from nearby Fort Omaha, Camp Funston (part of present day Fort Riley, Kansas) and Camp Dodge, Iowa. Although soldiers reported exchanging fire with rooftop snipers at the beginning of the deployment, no further loss of life occurred. Order was restored on September 29.

In 1923, a separate motor force unit was created and "pill boxes" were installed throughout the city. Some pill boxes are in service as of 2008. That same year, the United States' first safety patrol was instituted by the department to address concerns over protecting Omaha children walking to and from school.

In 1941, the department chose a distinctive badge design. The design is still in use today.

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.

On August 20, 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. 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.

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 featured on Omaha's version of a "Most Wanted" television show, Crimestoppers. Rucker had 141 arrests on his record 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 bulletproof vest. His sentence, handed down by Dougherty, was three years probation.