Kenneth Jones case, 14 others to be reviewed by single grand jury

By Guest Contributor Mel Buer

Yesterday, a grand jury convened to review the death of Kenneth Jones, who was fatally shot last year by an Omaha police officer. The details of Jones’s case will be heard along with 14 other cases of individuals who died in custody or while being apprehended by Omaha Police. 

The death of 35-year-old Kenneth Jones sparked four days of protests outside of police headquarters as the shooting came on the heels of nationwide protests against police violence in the summer of 2020. Jones was fatally shot by OPD Officer Dan Faulkner within 67 seconds of a traffic stop last November.

At the time, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer declined to release the complete bodycam footage of the incident, citing concerns that such a release might taint the grand jury proceedings. Instead selected still photographs were shown to the public at the discretion of the Omaha Police Department.

When the family of Kenneth Jones was contacted by a NOISE reporter about the grand jury announcement, it was clear that they had not been given advance notice of the convening of the jury, or of the consolidated grouping of the cases.

The Douglas County District Court released a statement saying that it “would be beneficial, efficient, and cost effective to the citizens of Douglas County to consolidate the investigation and review of each incident by a single grand jury.” Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine is tasked with presenting evidence in each of the 15 cases.

A representative from the District Court Administrative office confirmed that this caseload is abnormal for a single grand jury, citing scheduling complications from COVID-19. However, It remains unclear why some of the cases, which pre-date the pandemic by several months to over a year, were left uninvestigated until now.

Omaha mayoral candidate Jasmine Harris released a statement in response to the announcement. “The idea that these fifteen unique incidents should be lumped together in a closed-door process, each representing an individual person and set of circumstances, is unacceptable and disrespectful to Omahans,” Harris said. “Our elected officials and public servants should be accountable to us, and we deserve to be a part of the process.”