A Nebraska bar owner who fatally shot a protester in May was indicted by a grand jury this week.
Jake Gardner, a white man, shot and killed James Scurlock, a 22-year-old black demonstrator, during a scuffle outside his bar in downtown Omaha on May 30 during protests that came in response to George Floyd dying in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day.
Douglas County District Attorney Don Kleine initially ruled that the killing had been justified as an act of self-defense. However, after backlash, he quickly requested a grand jury and special prosecutor to review the case. Gardner, 38, was charged with manslaughter, attempted first-degree assault, terroristic threats, and use of a firearm in connection with a felony on Tuesday.
Special prosecutor Frederick Franklin, who originally supported the killing being deemed self-defense, said the grand jury had access to additional information, according to NPR. Franklin said the new evidence came from Gardner’s private social media messages along with video from inside the bar, but he declined to provide additional details.
“But I can tell you that there is evidence that undermines that,” he said. “[And] that evidence comes primarily from Jake Gardner himself.”
State Sen. Justin Wayne, who is representing the Scurlock family, told reporters, “While this family is thankful, this family is also still frustrated that it took this process to occur,” according to a local NBC affiliate.
Floyd’s death, which came after a white police officer knelt on his knelt for nearly 10 minutes, was the impetus for demonstrations around the country against police brutality and racial injustice.
“There was a consensus that the actions of the shooter were justified,” Kleine said in June, at the time when Gardner’s actions were deemed in self-defense. “We certainly wish that none of this would have happened. It’s a senseless death.”
