Kenneth Jones fatally shot by Police according to Witness and Reports
By Dawaune Hayes
Kenneth Jones, a.k.a Greedy, born July 17, 1985
On Thursday, November 19, around 7:30 p.m. Kenneth Jones, was fatally shot by an Omaha Police officer. Jones, who is Black, was described by a witness and friends as a “family man” who won’t be around for Thanksgiving or Christmas anymore.
35-year-old Jones, also known as Greedy, was in the back passenger seat of a vehicle with three other women when they were pulled over.
Omaha Police Deputy Chief Kanger provided information via OPD’s Twitter account and described the scene at 27th & Harrison Streets as a traffic stop where “a passenger was asked to exit the vehicle, the passenger refused and a struggle ensued. [Officer] discharged his weapon, Party was struck, transported, and later died. Investigation is ongoing.”
Details shared from KETV stated there was a weapon visible, “According to Kanger, officers observed a weapon on the person as he got out of the vehicle, announced the weapon and a struggle ensued. Kanger said an officer fired his weapon during the struggle.” Accounts from Police Chief Schmaderer reveal a gun was seen.
NOISE spoke with Charlene Rainey, a nearby resident who said she and two of her children saw two officers grab Jones, they then were “tussling around, spinning” when an officer said “he’s got a weapon.” “They let go of the man and one of the police officers already had a gun in his hand and opened fire about five or six times,” said Rainey. Police reports say four shots were fired.
Rainey said the incident happened while her children, ages 9 and 7, were outside and witnessed the shooting, “When I stepped out on my porch, I didn’t expect a man to get shot in front of me by a police officer. That wasn’t the first thing that came to my mind. You hear about it all the time, everywhere else, but for it to happen in your city right in your very eyes is traumatizing.”
“Police officers are supposed to be there to help us, we’re supposed to call them in times of need and to protect us,” she said.
Rainey spoke with Kenneth’s family members who live in the same neighborhood. “He was a family person. I’ve known his family for 10-plus years,” she said. “They’re all hurt, they just lost somebody and Thanksgiving is next week. On top of that, this will be their first Christmas without him too.”
“I’m scared, you know, about the future. I have five boys, they’re all African American on top of that so, for me to see stuff like this, it’s scary because one day it could be one of my sons,” said Rainey.
2020 has seen major discussions in city government about police funding and contracts after OPD’s response to protests in May and June and kettling of protestors on the Farnam Street Bridge in July that has resulted in a lawsuit against the City of Omaha and Police Department. Now, only days away from city council voting to approve the five year contract with the Omaha Police Officer’s Association, Rainey thinks more needs to be done if police are getting pay increases.
“If they’re going to up the budget, I think they should work on better tactical [skills] to approach a situation like this. If you feel like your life is threatened, instead of opening fire, you have a taser...There’s rubber bullets, there are bean bags, there are different situations that you could use to disarm somebody than just opening fire and taking somebody’s life.”
“It’s a whole circle thing now, someone lost a family member, someone might lose a job. This is right by the holidays and this is when people are supposed to be together the most,” Rainey.
When asked what advice she would give the community, Rainey said, “Don’t resist, make things as easy as possible because obviously police out here do not care about our lives at all, they only care about making sure they can get home and that’s a very tough situation.”
When asked how she is dealing with witnessing such a traumatic event, Rainey said, “I don’t know. Right now, I’m just using my voice for what I know and what I have seen to make things better. Show my kids you don’t need to be scared and always speak up for what you feel is right.”
Body cam footage has yet to be released from the killing, there was a demonstration on the Friday night, demanding the footage to be made public. You can view our coverage on social media @noiseomaha.
Protestors hold signs outside of Omaha Police Department Headquarters. Photo Credit: Emily Chen-Newton
Police account from Police Chief todd Schmaderer
