Nearly 50 supporters chanting “No justice, no peace,”
accompanied Sharee Johnson into Omaha Police Headquarters on Sunday afternoon
as she obtained a form to report cop misconduct.
Johnson is alleging police brutality in the arrests of her
sons Octavious Johnson, 28, Juaquez Johnson, 23, and Demetrius Johnson, 22, on
Thursday near 33rd and Seward Streets.
She said she already has been interviewed by detectives from
the internal affairs unit, and they advised her to file a formal complaint.
“We need real change in the Police Department,” Johnson told
supporters outside the headquarters.
“I want you to have an encounter with police where you feel
like justice is served. I want you to have an encounter that does not look like
you might die.”
Sharee Johnson and members of the Omaha Justice Alliance
said they were outraged by a video of the arrests taken by a neighbor and
posted on YouTube. The video shows Octavious Johnson being taken down,
handcuffed and apparently punched three times by an cop.
Cops can be heard on the video yelling at Juaquez Johnson,
who was on the sidewalk videotaping the incident.
Police say Octavious Johnson became combative after his car
screeched to a halt in front of cops who were investigating cars with expired
license plates that were parked on the street. After Juaquez Johnson went
inside a nearby house, several cops raced after him and placed him under arrest
on suspicion of obstruction.
Sharon Johnson, the men's aunt, told The World-Herald that
police told Juaquez Johnson to stop videotaping the incident. He ran inside the
house to get away from them, and police followed to get the video, she said.
Demetrius Johnson was arrested on suspicion of obstructing
police and having an outstanding warrant.
Sam Walker, professor emeritus of criminal justice at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha, was among those gathered at Omaha Police
Headquarters on Sunday.
He told the crowd that he emailed the video of the incident
to a unit at the U.S. Justice Department that investigates police departments.
“They very quickly acknowledged they had received it, and I
got a strong sense that it has already been looked at,” Walker said. “I am
optimistic because I got such a quick response.”
Walker said what happened Thursday was a microcosm of
problems within the Police Department. It was “a small incident that quickly
escalated out of control” because of a lack of supervision, Walker said.
Willie Hamilton of the NAACP and Black Men United encouraged
the crowd to engage city leaders and to demand changes in the department.
Hamilton also said he was thrilled by the turnout on a cold
and windy day. “I'm really pleased with this diverse group of individuals
here,” Hamilton said. “This is bigger than a north Omaha problem. There are
people here from all over.”
Police Chief Todd Schmaderer promised during a press
conference Saturday to oversee a thorough investigation of the allegations of
brutality and intimidation.
Three cops, whose names have not been released, have been
reassigned until the probe is concluded.