Jacob Gardner

Jacob Gardner

On May 30, 2020, James Scurlock, a 22-year-old black male protester, was fatally shot by a 38-year-old bar owner, Jacob "Jake" Gardner. The shooting took place during George Floyd protests in Omaha, Nebraska, in the Old Market area of the city. Scurlock had been among the thousands of protesters who flooded the city's downtown area.Surveillance video of the strip of bars shows a group of people, including Scurlock, being approached by Jacob Gardner, his father, and one other male in the street. Shortly after Jacob Gardner's elderly father was shoved by a man to the ground after a verbal confrontation with a woman. Gardner, who was nearby decided to investigate the altercation, then pulled a handgun from his waistband, and verbally threatened the group on the corner including Scurlock. As Gardner attempted to return the firearm to his waistband, and was then attacked by two members of the crowd after he turned his back on them. As they struggled on the ground, Gardner fired shots while being grappled, resulting in the attacker fleeing. Seconds later, Scurlock jumped on Gardner, with one hand holding the arm in which the handgun was being held and one arm draped around Gardner's neck. Gardner asked Scurlock to get off him, and then using his left hand fired the gun over his shoulder, striking Scurlock in the clavicle, killing him.After 36 hours Gardner was released from police custody after the county attorney concluded that he had acted in self-defense. The decision proved controversial amid accusations of racial motivation. It has been described as exacerbating tensions in the United States, and the case was referred to a grand jury for review; a grand jury returned indictments against Gardner on September 15 on four felony criminal charges, including manslaughter. Special prosecutor Fred Franklin stated that Gardner had been "threatening the use of deadly force in the absence of being threatened with ... deadly force by James Scurlock or anyone who was associated with him."On September 20, 2020, Gardner was required to turn himself in to police. Instead, he committed suicide outside a medical center in Hillsboro, Oregon, where he had moved after the incident. His death is currently under investigation by Hillsboro police and medical examiners.

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