ACLU Nebraska Legal Program - Police Misconduct: Racial Profiling, Excessive Force
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ACLU Nebraska Sues Omaha Over Need for Police Reform
ACLU filed suit asking the court to force the city to hire an independent
police auditor. ACLU charges the independent position is
needed to process the increasing number of citizen
complaints about police misconduct and abuse, and that minority
residents in Omaha are particularly being harmed by the failure to
have a strong complaint process. Read the press
release
here and the Judge's initial order
here. (April 16, 2008)
Hector Herrera was a Hispanic man traveling from Omaha’s Eppley Airport in March 2001 to visit
his family in Arizona when he was stopped and questioned by law enforcement officers, apparently only because of
his race. Hector cooperated with the officers, answered all their questions, and even allowed them to search his
luggage. When they found the $4,000 savings he was carrying, they seized the money and turned it over to the
Drug Enforcement Agency. Despite the fact that Hector has no criminal record and was not being charged with any
crime, the DEA recommended legal action be taken to retain the money. ACLU Nebraska entered its appearance as
Hector’s attorney and negotiated a return of the money from the U.S. Attorney. Hector received his money back,
but only after waiting almost a year. Top
Jacob King also experienced discrimination known as "flying while black." Jacob is a young
African-American businessman with an auto-cleaning and detailing business in Omaha. In April 2001 he was stopped
in Eppley Airport by law enforcement officers. In front of his family, Jacob was questioned about his
destination and reasons for flying. Jacob answered the officers and agreed to allow a search of his luggage. He
was traveling with cash to purchase a car in Nevada. Jacob planned to bring the car back to Omaha, work on it
and sell it at a profit allowing him to buy additional car washing equipment. His money ($7,000) was seized on
suspicion of drug activity even though Jacob had no criminal record and was not being charged with any crime.
ACLU Nebraska filed a motion to dismiss the civil forfeiture case in federal court, arguing that the officers
used racial profiling to stop Jacob and that there was absolutely no evidence of drug activity. The case was
dismissed and nine months after the seizure, King received his money--but without apology or interest. Top
A young African-American woman in Omaha was surprised to find a local rent-to-own company at
her door in January 2001. The company was attempting to repossess her father's computer, although it turned out
they were in error and the computer was properly paid for. The employees called the police, and two uniformed
officers entered her house without a warrant, court order or permission. Although the woman has no criminal
record, the police refused to investigate the computer's ownership and intervened in the private dispute between
the woman and the company. In front of her minor children and grandmother, the police threw the woman to the
floor, injuring her shoulder, and arrested her for Disorderly Conduct and Obstruction of Justice. A cooperating
attorney provided his legal assistance and the charges were dropped entirely. The woman decided not to pursue a
civil action against the police. Top
Ramon Villa-Velazquez filed suit alleging police brutality and misconduct. Ramon, originally
from Mexico, resided in Scottsbluff with his wife and their children for several decades. In 1999, local
Scottsbluff police decided to do the work of the INS and came to Ramon’s house to question his immigration
status. They entered his home without a warrant and without permission. When Ramon questioned their authority
and asked to see a warrant, they responded with racial slurs and used pepper spray to “subdue” him. So much
pepper spray was used that Ramon’s infant son was unable to live in the house for days after the attack. While
Ramon’s adolescent daughter watched in horror, the police repeatedly struck Ramon until he fell to the ground and
then brutally dragged him from the house. Ramon suffered physical injuries that may be permanent. We filed a
federal lawsuit against the arresting officers. The case was settled in 2002 to our client's satisfaction. Top
Linda Johnson is a victim of "Driving While Black." Ms. Johnson is African-American and a
resident of Fort Riley, Kansas. She was stopped in Gage County by an officer for “driving left of center.” In
classic DWB form, the officer only gave her a warning but still went on to question her about her destination,
her purpose for traveling, and so on. When she challenged him and told him she thought she'd been stopped based
on her race, he let her go, but then phoned her husband and her husband’s boss to complain about Ms. Johnson's
"attitude"! We filed a federal lawsuit charging racial and gender discrimination. Though we were initially
successful at the trial court level, the case was appealed to the Eighth Circuit, where we lost in 2003. The
Court held there was no indication the officer's actions were motivated by Ms. Johnson's race. Though this was
a disappointing result, the Gage County Sheriff announced the deputy is no longer employed by them. Top
Richard Rivera was an undercover investigator on police conduct for Channel KETV in Omaha to
find how citizen complaints against police are handled. Rivera is Hispanic and a former police officer himself,
who now works as an advisor on police ethics and accountability. At the Sarpy County Sheriff’s office, Rivera
was told he had to show photo ID or he would be arrested. He refused, attempted to walk away, and was arrested
for “failing to identify himself,” even though there is no such law in Nebraska. He was held for several hours
before being released with a ticket for “filing a false report,” which was subsequently dropped by the county
attorney. We filed suit in federal court, charging the Sarpy County Sheriff's office with racial profiling,
improper arrest, and excessive force. The case was settled in 2003 with monetary damages to Rivera as well as a
new policy on how citizen complaints are to be filed. Our settlement resulted in the Sheriff's office making
their complaint forms available on their website, www.sarpy.com/sherriff, in Spanish and English, so that citizens can easily file complaints they have against
the department. Top
On December 28, 2000, Kearney police officers executed a search warrant on 15 year old Holly Liner’s
stepfather’s home. Holly Liner was dressed in pajamas and wearing no shoes when she answered the door. The police
entered with their guns drawn, pointed the guns at the teen’s head and searched the house. Holly’s older teenage
brother and sister were home with her stepfather, and all the people in the house were patted down by the police,
including Holly. The officer who searched Holly felt something in the girl’s groin area, which turned out to be a
sanitary napkin, as she was menstruating at the time. A female officer took Holly to the bathroom and ordered her to
remove her pajama bottoms and underwear, then instructed the teenage girl to “squat and cough,” and to remove her
tampon and sanitary napkin, all in the presence of the officer. Holly was given another tampon to replace hers, and
was required to insert it while the officer watched her.
After the search, Holly was allowed to put her pajamas back on and was then forced to leave the house. She was not
allowed to call her mother or any other adult to pick her up. Holly was forced to leave the house at night in the cold
without gathering her belongings, changing into more suitable clothing, or being allowed to put on shoes.
ACLU Nebraska filed suit in federal court for six causes of action, including an illegal search violating Holly’s
Fourth Amendment rights, denial of equal protection for singling Holly out on the basis of her gender, violation of
Holly’s due process liberty interests, an illegal battery or unlawful touching claim, intentional infliction of
emotional distress, and false imprisonment.
The case was settled by mutual agreement in 2003 and included
compensation for Holly Liner as well as payment of her attorney fees and costs associated with the lawsuit. Top
