Cameron Ford was gunned down by a Nebraska police officer named Adam Vail while serving a no-knock warrant for allegedly selling fentanyl. BOSSIP reported on the incident last week and according to APNews, there has been a significant update in the case.
Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer has announced that Vail has been fired from his job at the department even though Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine opted not to press criminal charges against him for Ford’s death. Schmaderer agreed with Kleine that Vail did not violate the law but wasn’t willing to keep him on the force following the shooting.
“During the course of the investigation, I did not see or uncover any criminal intent on the part of Officer Vail,” Schmaderer said. “Nonetheless, I cannot ignore my determination that policy and procedure violations occurred.”
Before his termination is finalized, Vail can appeal Chief Schmaderer’s decision with the human resources department. It should come as no surprise that The Omaha Police Officers Association is standing by their boy in blue.
“Yes, the Omaha Police Officers Association supports Adam Vail. He has our full support and backing. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, there won’t be any further comment outside of the press release,” Patrick Dempsey, president of the OPOA, said.
Meanwhile, Ford’s family and friends are calling for an end to no-knock warrants.
“He should have walked out there in handcuffs, he shouldn’t have been shot and killed,” Chrome Louis said.
“And that’s why this no-knock warrant, it has to be abolished. It has to be abolished,” Isaiah Calloway said.
Fortunately, no-knock warrants have been suspended according to deputy police chief Scott Gray via Omaha World-Herald:
“My feeling is, there will be times where a limited penetration is necessary, just because of the extreme circumstances, but we’re going to look at whether we can do other methods on certain cases to try to bring that risk down,”
BOSSIP will report back on the final ruling in Vail’s appeal.
