OPD: man was unarmed when shot and killed by officer

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Omaha Police Department held a press conference on Sunday to share new details on the Aug. 28 shooting. Police say there's still a lot of gray area with what happened. An investigation is ongoing.

• Video shows body worn camera images when OPD Officer Adam Vail entered 37-year-old Cameron Ford's house and shot him.
• "Mr. Ford charged out of the room. Officer Vail was unable to see Mr. Ford’s hands. Officer Vail feared that he and his fellow officers were in a life-threatening situation."
• The shooting is under criminal investigation by the Douglas County Attorney’s Office and is the subject of an administrative investigation.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

We continue to learn more about a shooting last Wednesday morning near 78th and Redick. An investigation is ongoing after an Omaha police officer shot and killed a man while serving a warrant for narcotics and firearms. Now OPD is starting to reveal more about what officers say happened that morning.

A warning - some of this video may be hard to watch.

Body worn camera images show the 11 seconds that passed before OPD Officer Adam Vail shot 37-year-old Cameron Ford.

At the time of the shooting, police say Ford was unarmed. Officers immediately began CPR, but it was too late.

Moving forward with an investigation, OPD interviewed Officer Vail on Friday, Aug. 30 where he gave a voluntary statement regarding the reason he shot the suspect.

"Mr. Ford charged out of the room. Officer Vail was unable to see Mr. Ford’s hands. Officer Vail feared that he and his fellow officers were in a life-threatening situation,” said Lt. Neal Bonacci in a video provided by OPD.

Officer Vail has been with Omaha Police for seven years and has served in over 100 high-risk warrants.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer says there’s still a lot of gray area with this investigation and there is nothing they have found yet that makes it unique compared to the other warrants Officer Vail has operated on.

"On one hand, Ford did not say I am in here to the police, I surrender. On the other hand, Ford had a gun by his bed and did not grab to use it,” said Chief Schamderer.

Police said Sunday that when the task force entering Ford’s home, officers had 23 total verbal commands - Five by Officer Vail himself.

The warrant being served was considered a high-risk threat level due to Ford’s criminal history.

But with body worn cameras being partially blocked by officers shields, it presents a challenge for investigators to determine a course of action for Officer Vail.

"Lots of times we are still able to capture what took place, body worn cameras going to sit about right here. That’s where all our cameras sit. We’ve always been able to see what goes on inside of the search warrants. But this narrow hallway altered, altered the terrain completely because it was less than three ft.,” said Chief Schmaderer.

Chief Schmaderer met with Ford’s family on Sunday as a part of the investigation and to offer his condolences.

"You know, it’s a tough meeting. They lost a loved one and I’ll never, never ever minimize that on, on any level. And then also it’s an opportunity for me to look them in the eyes, apologize to them and, and pledge my transparency on this matter,” said Chief Schmaderer.

This shooting is under criminal investigation by the Douglas County Attorney’s Office and is the subject of an administrative investigation. Chief Schmaderer says no conclusions will be made until the investigation is complete.