NE - Omaha Police kill mentally ill Native man, Zachary Bearheels, June 2017

[bluesneakers]

Todd Schmaderer 'highly confident' in decision to fire 2 Omaha police officers after Taser incident

“It was very disappointing,” Schmaderer said of the firings he decided on after the June 5 death of Zachary Bearheels. “But we’re not going to shy away from what was the evidence.”

The officers the chief wants to fire, Scott Payne and Ryan McClarty, still would have an opportunity to appeal their terminations. Schmaderer, however, said he was “highly confident” in his decision.

 

[HoneyWest]

Still no charges have been filed against the officers who killed Zachary. Omaha Police Dept. didn't even bother to offer to pay for the funeral. He was tased 12 times in a matter of minutes while being punched in the head and dragged by his ponytail.

What are we waiting for, Omaha? The final autopsy results? He was killed a month ago.

 

[HoneyWest]

Coroner's Report Released on Man Who Died in Omaha Police Department Custody

http://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/coroners-report-released-on-man-who-died-in-opd-custody

Zachary Bearheels, the Oklahoma man who died in police custody last month, suffered a "sudden death associated with excited delirium....physical struggle, physical restraint and a use of a taser," according to a coroner's physician's report.

The Douglas County Attorney has still not decided if any officers should be charged.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

absolutely appalled. I have to stop from imagining what he was thinking as this was happening to him.

and these officers can go find work in other jurisdictions. what the $#@*&^<%??

I have to mostly sit on my hands about the use and legality of the taser aside from saying that far too many people have died or been badly injured by the use of that weapon. That company has been laughing all the way to the bank from day one IMO.

 

[ninij9]

Everyone failed him. The custodial adult that allowed him to travel alone. The bus company for abandoning him in a strange place. And then our protectors of society that were not trained to deal with a diminished capacity adult.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Jax49]

[h=1]Ambiguous autopsy may hamper charges in death of man Omaha police shocked 12 times with Taser[/h]
http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/amb...cle_ebb7001a-6274-11e7-9664-039eb55217a6.html

Across the country, coroners often have attributed Taser deaths to &#8220;excited delirium,&#8221; a condition in which a person, whether because of mental illness or drug use, becomes violent, hyper-aggressive, agitated and feverish.

A &#8220;significant portion,&#8221; though not all, of fatal Taser incidents involve repeated shocks, said Ed Byers, a doctoral student in criminal justice at the University of Louisville and a 31-year law-enforcement veteran. Of those who died, roughly 79 percent had mental health issues or were displaying erratic behavior.

 

[ninij9]

The mentally ill get tasered so often because they are unable to comply with police instruction. As soon as a subject is identified mentally troubled (which usually starts at the call level 911) a unit equipped to deal with these subjects should be dispatched to assist LE. Different language needs to be used. Different procedure needs to be followed. Of course if citizens are at immediate risk all that has to fly out the window. But tasing sick people because they cannot or will not comply with simple commands is wrong. He was not breaking laws, or threatening anyone.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[HoneyWest]

Nebraska ACLU calls for "independent review" of autopsy for mentally-ill man who died in OPD custody:

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The Nebraska ACLU is challenging the Douglas County Coroner's report that lists "excited delirium" as a cause of death for Zachary Bearheels. The ACLU argues "excited delirium" doesn't exist.

Bearheels, who was mentally ill, was tased 12 times last month while Omaha Police officers struggled to take him into custody. He later died. Bearheels's official autopsy lists the taser, along with "physical struggle" and "physical restraint" as causes of death. However, "excited delirium" was the top cause on the Coroner's report.

Amy Miller, Legal Director for the Nebraska ACLU, told our sister station, WOWT 6 News: "Mr. Bearheels did not cause his death by getting overly excited."

http://www.1011now.com/content/news/Nebraska-ACLU-calls-for-independent-review-of-autopsy-for-my-illentall-man-who-died-in-OPD-custody-434925953.html

 

[bluesneakers]

Two Omaha Police officers fired following in-custody death case

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer announced in early June, that he recommended that two of the four officers involved in the in-custody death of Zachary Bearheels on June 5, should have their employment terminated. The two officers, Officer Scotty Payne and Officer Ryan McClarty recommended for termination have gone through the Loudermill Process.

That process supported the Chief's decision. As of July 21, 2017, Officer Scotty Payne and Officer Ryan McClarty are no longer employees of the Omaha Police Department.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Thursday he hasn't yet decided whether to bring charges against the officers

 

[HoneyWest]

Omaha Police Officers Face Assault Charges After Death of Man Hit With a Stun Gun

http://time.com/4875726/omaha-nebraska-scotty-payne-ryan-mclarty-zachary-bearheels/

(OMAHA, Neb.) &#8212; Two Omaha police officers will face assault charges in the death of a mentally ill man who was shocked with a stun gun a dozen times and repeatedly punched, even after he was on the ground, a Nebraska prosecutor said Wednesday.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine made the announcement while revealing police video that captured the altercation officers Scotty Payne and Ryan McClarty had with 29-year-old Zachary Bearheels at an Omaha convenience store. Kleine said he wouldn't file more serious charges against the officers because a coroner could not directly link their actions to the Oklahoma man's death.

Assault charges. They murdered this man and will be charged with assault. And what the hell kind of coroner cannot link being tased twelve times and beaten to his death? You've gotta ****in' kidding me.

 

[HoneyWest]

This article includes the video of Zachary being killed. Obviously, it's disturbing.

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/former-omaha-police-officers-charged-with-assault-in-death-of/article_00e522f0-717f-11e7-a0f4-67a158462d9c.html

 

[Betty P]

This article includes pictures of 4 of the officers involved in Zachary Bearheels' killing.

http://www.wowt.com/content/news/Police-chief-to-address-in-custody-death-of-Zachary-Bearheels-427481253.html

Good to see the officers involved were terminated. I hope they aren't allowed to move to another community to perpetuate the same abuse.

 

[Karinna]

R.I.P. Zach Bearheels
Mitakuye Oyasin
[video=youtube;9ruXsXQ15UE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ruXsXQ15UE[/video]

 

[Renee110]

My Gosh. Speechless. So... I guess a human body is well able and should be able to withstand 12 taser hits. Good to know. I'll use this case as my defense if I ever tase someone 12 times and say see? Taser shocks aren't fatal. At least up until 12 times.

 

[HoneyWest]

Former Omaha police officer Scotty Payne posts bail:

http://www.ketv.com/articler-omaha-police-officer-scotty-payne-turns-himself-in/10375279e/form

 

[bluesneakers]

Decision to appoint special prosecutor adds twist to Omaha officers' case in death of mentally ill man

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine had argued that he should be allowed to present the case to grand jurors.

Douglas County District Judge Duane Dougherty disagreed, saying Kleine potentially influenced the grand jury pool when he announced charges against the officers and showed portions of the cruiser video of Zachary N. Bearheels&#8217; arrest and death. Kleine has said he did so in order to be transparent about what happened

&#8220;There was a video of the night in question that the media obtained and showed to the public over and over,&#8221; Judge Dougherty wrote. &#8220;Clearly this publicity could be seen as unfavorable to not only the two police officers charged but possibly to anyone that may be under the scrutiny of the grand jury.&#8221;

In turn, Dougherty ruled, the county attorney &#8212; who has already made up his mind on charges &#8212; shouldn&#8217;t present evidence of Bearheels&#8217; death to the grand jury.

 

[MsMarple]

This article includes the video of Zachary being killed. Obviously, it's disturbing.

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/former-omaha-police-officers-charged-with-assault-in-death-of/article_00e522f0-717f-11e7-a0f4-67a158462d9c.html

OMG! This is out and out murder! If the video starred gang members kiling someone in this manner there'd be no question that Zachary was maliciously executed. I'm shocked that we're seeing police oficers, not gang members.

I am usually sympathetic towards LEOs but there is nothing in this video that justifies what they did. Fire? Assault? Oh no no no - bring down murder charges on these asshats!

 

[HoneyWest]

Decision to appoint special prosecutor adds twist to Omaha officers' case in death of mentally ill man

Wow, just wow. I don't think they have a valid argument in not allowing the County Attorney to present the case. So, the video was released. This really didn't make national news as much as other cases have. There aren't as many Natives to create publicity, no huge marches, no appearances on national news stations.

In Tulsa, the video of the killing of Terrence Crutcher was widely distributed just days after the incident. The whole country was watching that case and Betty Shelby, the officer who killed him was found not guilty of manslaughter 1. She wasn't fired, but put on desk duty, without access to her service weapon in public. She lasted a couple of weeks and decided that she was not happy unless she could be on the beat with her gun, so she quit the Tulsa PD and now is working for the Sheriff's office, out on patrol with a gun again.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this case to go forward.

 

[HoneyWest]

Zachary wasn't killed by shooting, but this article does include his case.

Native Americans: The forgotten minority in police shootings

[video]http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/us/native-lives-matter/index.html[/video]

Native Americans are killed in police encounters at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet rarely do these deaths gain the national spotlight.

This lack of attention has prompted some advocates to start social media campaigns reminiscent of Black Lives Matter.
"Native American people are basically invisible to most of the people in the country," said Daniel Sheehan, general counsel for the Lakota People's Law Project.

For every 1 million Native Americans, an average of 2.9 of them died annually from 1999 to 2015 as a result of a "legal intervention," according to a CNN review of CDC data broken down by race. The vast majority of these deaths were police shootings. But a few were attributed to other causes, including manhandling. That mortality rate is 12% higher than for African-Americans and three times the rate of whites.

I am very much in touch with my tribal community and what's going on with "Indian Country" folks in general. With every killing of one of us, all of us grieve and lean upon one another. It's such a kick in the gut because there really are so few of us and we feel it hard.

 

[human]

http://www.twincities.com/2017/11/1...911-on-self-prior-to-fatal-shooting-doj-says/

This one is ripping my heart out