OMAHA, NEBRASKA – After the shooting incident between city police and a Black man, protests flared up on Saturday and Sunday to defend the rights of the citizens.
Omaha police had fatally shot down Kenneth Jones, 35, on Thursday night when he got pulled over by the police.
According to statements, a car with four people stopped in the middle of the road without their hazard lights on. Two officers involved in the stop, Dan Faulkner and Richard Martier instructed the people in the car to put their hands up as they walked towards the car.
In the statement Friday, the three passengers adhered to the police’s orders while Jones did not – the officers then break their car window that’s closest to Jones, who was not driving.
They struggled to get Jones out of the car, and claim to have seen a gun on Jones. The police then shot him four times.
Though the police did not specify which one shot Jones, they’ll be providing more detail in a press conference on Monday.
The police stated again that they found a gun “directly under him” after he was shot.
After shooting Jones, the police still asked for him to put up his hands, despite him not being able to stand up. Later, Jones died after he was taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
ProBLAC, a progressive Omaha-based group that advocates for racial justice, condemned the killing in a statement posted to Twitter on Friday, saying “there is no probable cause for him to have been asked to exit the vehicle.”
The protesters demand bodycam footage of the police to be shown to the public.
“Until the police prove that they didn’t murder a Black man, we’re not shutting up – not one bit,” said the organizer for ProBLAC, Peyton Zyla.
There were arrests against the protesters for “assaulting” a police officer, with several similar arrests done.
Some protesters were sprayed with pepper spray by the police, getting sent to the hospital right after.
Source: NBC News