Routine stops risky for police
OMAHA (AP)—Traffic stops for
improperly registered license plates
are too common to routinely call for
backup, police in Nebraska’s largest
city said.
Omaha Police Officer James Wil
son Jr. was killed Aug. 20 when he
pulled over a van with license plates
registered to a different vehicle. Wil
son did not even have a chance to
leave his cruiser before he was shot.in
the head. Seven people have been
charged in Wilson’s killing.
Training officers in Minneapolis,
Denver and Portland, Ore., say li
cense plates registered to a different
vehicle are a danger sign that makes it
advi sable to have two or more officers
present before stopping a vehicJe, the
Omaha World-Herald reported.
But Nebraska authorities say the
high cost of registering vehicles here
coupled with a low fine for improper
registration make such stops a daily
occurrence for Omaha officers. *
Wilson was alone in his cruiser. A
1992 consultant’s report on the Omaha
Police Department says research has
shown that two-officer cars tend to
increase officer injuries and citizen
complaints of overly aggressive po
lice conduct. _
The report recommended that the
department develop written policies
on what kind of situations required
more than one patrol car.
Omaha police officials have said
written policies exist. On Friday, they
declined to disclose the policies or
discuss training in detail.
“We have people out there trying
to kill us,” said Lt. Mark Sundermeier,
head of the training unit. “Our officers
are safer if the criminals know less
about what we do.”
Vehicle stops are considered par
ticularly dangerous because officers
often have little idea of whom or what
they will be facing.
McMenamin reward increases
By The Associated Press
A reward for information that would
help solve the killing of an Omaha
woman has grown to $12,550.
Martina S. McMenamin, 18, was
found dead in her southeast Lincoln
apartment July. 25. She had finished
her freshman year at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln last year..
Police reports indicated that
McMenamin had been repeatedly
stabbed. Investigators have not iden
tified any suspects.
The latest contributors to the
County rejects
tribe’s attempt
to build homes
By The Associated Press
The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska,
stripped of its land by Congress de
cades ago, has been turned down in its
attempt to build five homes for needy
families in Lancaster County.
The tribe has $4 million in a grant
from the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development to build the
homes, and it has the land picked out
in west Lincoln.
But the tribe’s attempt to obtain
tax-exempt status for the property it
wants to build on was rejected last
week by the county’s Board of Equal
ization:
“It was the county’s opinion that
the exemptions did not qualify under
the law providing exemptions,” said
Keuy Eagan, chief county adminis
trative officer. The law allows tax
exemptions for religious, charitable
or educational organizations with
property.
“The statutes are very specific about
who gets exemptions and who
doesn’t,” Eagan said. “There’s noth
ing about providing exemptions to an
Indian housing authority.”
Mark Peniska, the tribe’s housing
commissioner for Lancaster County,
said he believed the board acted un
fairly.
What s really so frustrating is our
program mirrors the public housing
program in Lincoln here,” he said.
“We get federal funds to build hous
ingjust like the city housing authority.
It’s exactly the same thing.” -
The Ponca have worked to find
housing for some of their needy fami
lies in Nebraska since the federal gov
ernment restored its tribal status in
1990. The status came without land.
The tribe was split in 1878 be
tween Nebraska and Indian Territory,
which later became Oklahoma. In
1962* Congress terminated the north
ern Ponca tribe and dissolved tribal
lands and holdings.
The Ponca have tried to bui Id hous
ing in five counties where tribal mem
bers live: Lancaster, Douglas, Madi-.
son, Knox and Boyd. In all, there are
plans to build 40 homes, including
some in Charles Mix County in South
Dakota.
Officials in Douglas County and
the city of Omaha gave the tribe ap
proval to build 13 homes in Omaha.
Peniska said officials there agreed that
the tribe met the letter of the law when
they formed the Northcm’Ponca Chari
table Housing Corp. \ ,
Knox County also approved the
construction of seven houses in
Niobrara, the northeast Nebraska town
where the tribe has its headquarters.
Madison County commissioners
rejected the tribe’s request for tax
exempt status earlier this month.
CrimeStoppers reward were the em
ployees and owners of Lazio’s and
Jabrisco restaurants in the Haymarket
and the state CrimeStopper’s organi
zation, Lt. Lee Wagner said.
Restaurant employees raised $275,
and restaurant owners matched that
amount. Lazio’s senior manager John
Wade said management of the two
restaurants frequently did charity
work, but never before had contrib
uted to a CrimeStoppers reward.
“We were just kind of concerned,”
Wade said..“We'hadn’t seen a lot in
the news lately, and we were afraid it
i-—
was kind of being shoved aside- and
was being forgotten about. Hopefully,
somebody might come forward.”
The state CrimeStopper’s board
contributed $1,000. Wagner said the
state board decided to donate because
young people from all over the state
attended UNL.
The Lincoln-Lancaster County
CrimeStoppers Board originally ap
proved its maximum $1,000 reward.
Family and friends of McMenamin’s
added $9,000 to the fund, and
Godfather’s donated $1,000.
McMenamin worked at Godfather’s.
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