Protests In Omaha After Black Man Is Killed During A Traffic Stop
Demonstrations have erupted in Omaha Neb., over the weekend after the police killing of a Black man Nov. 19 in a traffic stop.
According to NBC News, two police officers stopped a car in the middle of the street with no hazard lights on. The vehicle’s occupants were told to put their hands up but Kenneth Jones, 35, who was a passenger, reportedly did not comply. Police broke the car’s window with a flashlight, and video shows officers struggling with Jones as he tried to extract him from the car. During the struggle, officers claim they saw a gun on him and shot four times at him. He later died at at a nearby hospital.
Local station KPTM identified the officers involved as officers Dan Faulkner and Richard Martier, both of whom have been with the Omaha Police Department since 2016.
Police did not say which officer shot and killed Jones.
Activists are blasting the police action that led to Jones’ death. The Omaha-based racial justice group group ProBLAC tweeted on November 20, “There is no probable cause for him to have been asked to exit the vehicle."
"Until [police] prove that they didn't murder a Black man, we're not shutting up — not one bit," ProBLAC member Peyton Zyla told the Omaha World Herald.
Several protests took place over the weekend, but police declaring them "unlawful assemblies." NBC News reports several people were arrested.
See the video below of cops and protesters:
Omaha station KETV reports Omaha Police will hold a news conference at 2:00 p.m. on Monday about the incident.
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