No indictment for Omaha Police officer involved in fatal shooting while serving ‘no-knock’ warrant

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Grand jury results are in for 13 cases presented to them by Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine.

On Thursday, the grand jury returned a "no true bill" for all of them — including the death of 37-year-old Cameron Ford, who was shot and killed by Omaha SWAT Officer Adam Vail during a no-knock search warrant in August.

"No true bill" means the grand jury will not indict him — that the evidence did not persuade them that there is probable cause to believe the officer committed a crime.

Following the shooting, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer recommended that the officer be fired from his position , saying Vail was in violation of the department's protocol when issuing the warrant in the early morning hours of Aug. 28.

"The internal affairs process and investigation were comprehensive and thorough. During the course of the investigation, I did not see or uncover any criminal intent on the part of Officer Vail. Nonetheless, I cannot ignore my determination that policy and procedure violations occurred," Schmaderer said in a statement in September.

The Omaha Police Officers Association said they supported Vail, claiming the circumstances and nature of the warrant authorities were serving Ford justified his actions.

"Officer Vail made a split-second decision in an extremely dangerous situation, and we believe he deserves the same fair treatment that every citizen is entitled to," OPOA President Patrick Dempsey said in September.

The shooting death of Steven Phipps Jr. by Officer Noah Zendejas after a traffic stop — where Phipps ran and jumped a fence — was not included in the 13 cases brought before this grand jury as the state didn't have the autopsy report yet.