These are OPOA members Officers Sunderman and Martinez. They were 2019 Crime Stoppers Officer of the Year nominees. In 2019 they were partners working in UPB when they accomplished the following: 6 stolen car recoveries with arrests 1 carjacking arrest and vehicle recovery 2 possession with intent to deliver arrests marijuana/cocaine 2 burglary arrests 2 robbery suspect arrests with recovery of a firearm And most dramatically they located the suspect vehicle from an abduction, pu...

Police recruiting has faced challenges for several years. Recent events are likely to make that worse. Images on the news of police officers being cursed at, spit upon, and assaulted with everything from water bottles, to bricks, to molotov cocktails does not help to inspire new recruits to apply. To combat these shrinking hiring pools and to get good, qualified, professional applicants, departments are going to have to offer excellent pay and benefits. Pay scales and incentives like lo...

Some in our community are calling for the removal of OPD School Resource officers from local schools. We feel that is a terrible, dangerous idea. SRO’s do so much more than criminal enforcement. They encourage students to succeed, help build positive police/community relationships, and most importantly provide safety for the students and staff if the worst should happen. They have extensive training in working with youth and de-escalation in addition to all their required law enfo...

Our members work hard serving and protecting this community. Part of that is investigating cases and making arrests. But community involvement is also a big part of what we do. Our goal is to make everyone in Omaha as safe and successful as possible. We enjoy doing prevention outreach and community involvement. We want to build strong relationships with the citizens we serve. Through events such as this pop-up block party last summer, providing kids in the community better sports equipment ...

The difficult job of being a law enforcement officer has become even more challenging in today’s emotional political climate. Peace officers have an inherent respect for other professionals who endure intense political pressure while simultaneously striving to maintain their professionalism, make tough choices, and do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine is one of those professionals, and thus he has our respect. The citizens of Douglas Cou...

According to the Pew Research Center, most Americans do not want to see police defunded or police budgets decreased. Many do want more accountability, transparency, and better training. Quality recruiting, applicant screening, and training cost money. So if the public is serious about improving police departments, this will require more financial investment, not less. Many are also calling for police officers to be personally, financially responsible for lawsuits. Colorad...