Omaha's police chief said Wednesday that an officer followed protocol when he shot a fleeing, armed Nebraska man eight times this weekend, killing him.
Steven Phipps, 22, is the second Black man killed by an Omaha officer in the past two months.
Omaha police Chief Todd Schmaderer told reporters that police pulled Phipps over for expired plates during a traffic stop Saturday and he ran away. Two officers chased him. Schmaderer said Phipps had a gun, which he legally owned, as he scaled a fence.
The firearm was pointed at Officer Noah Zendejas as Phipps fell from the fence, and body camera video stills show the gun in his right hand as he fell, police said. Zendejas, who is Hispanic and has worked for Omaha police for three years, then shot Phipps. Police released a compilation of video and audio from the shooting.
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Schmaderer said Zendejas first spotted a heavy weight in Phipps' hoodie as he ran.
Steven Phipps' aunt, Angela Phipps, was with the family when police showed them the full video and audio from the shooting, which wasn’t all released at Wednesday's news conference. She said she heard Phipps repeatedly say “don't shoot me” after he hit the ground while holding his hands and one leg up “like a Heisman pose but laying on the ground.”
But Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci said that isn't accurate because the body camera video shows most of the shots were fired while Phipps was in midair. Bonacci said Phipps did say something after he landed, but that was after he had already been shot. He said Phipps didn't drop the gun until after he landed.
Asked by reporters whether Phipps' gun was accidentally pointed at officers because he was falling, Schmaderer said that was “entirely possible.” But he questioned why Phipps still had possession of the gun and had not thrown it to the side. Schmaderer said Zendejas was also concerned about the risk to a public transit stop nearby.
“We really don't know what Mr. Phipps' intent was,” Schmaderer said. “But when that gun started to be pointed to him and he had it in his hand, that officer's authorized at that point to defend himself.”
Zendejas has not previously been disciplined for any use-of-force violations, Bonacci said.
Police said an autopsy shows Phipps was not shot in the back, and they showed a photo of his back to the family. A copy of the autopsy was not immediately provided to reporters.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine will review the investigation and decide whether to file charges, and the shooting will later be reviewed by a grand jury under Nebraska law. Kleine’s office did not immediately say when he will announce his decision on any charges.
Phipps' family, who said his father was killed four years ago in California, is distraught over losing him. They said Phipps got off work shortly before the shooting and had his little brother in the car with him.
“I’m so broken that I don’t know what to say. It was just wrong. It was wrong,” said Gail Phipps, his aunt.
Schmaderer said that had Phipps stayed in the car and told officers he had a gun, “he would have been issued a ticket for expired plates.” But his family said he had tried that in the past and was still arrested for having a concealed weapon.
Schmaderer pointed to a recent rise in the number of guns officers are finding in the community and said it's important for people to follow police orders.
“When somebody runs from a law enforcement officer, they’re trained to go after them,” he said. “We’re attempting to reduce crime. The minute I say as chief, ‘We’re no longer going to go after law violators,’ is the minute crime starts going up.”
Last month Schmaderer fired another officer who fatally shot an unarmed man while serving a no-knock warrant, a policy that has since been suspended in the city.
Omaha Police Officer Adam Vail was part of a SWAT team serving a search warrant during a drug and firearms investigation Aug. 28 when he fired the single shot that killed 37-year-old Cameron Ford, prosecutors said. Vail said Ford, who was Black, charged at him without his hands visible.
Kleine declined to charge the officer, but Schmaderer said an internal investigation found Vail violated department procedures.
Schmaderer said he is working to rebuild trust with residents after both shootings and planned to attend another community meeting Wednesday afternoon.
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Ballentine reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.
