OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — For almost all of the last 25-plus years, Tim Dunning has been Sheriff of Douglas County and his elections were sleepy races.
This year, the race for sheriff is anything but sleepy; big money has entered the race and attacks are coming from both sides.
One recent development was a text message Douglas County residents received last week. It included a GIF, or short video, that looped continuously.
The GIF was a dashcam video of sheriff candidate and Omaha Police Sgt. Aaron Hanson kneeing a suspect during an arrest. The video makes it appear as if Hanson kneed the man multiple times. He kneed him once.
The Flatwater Free Press reported the review board initially deemed the kneeing excessive force and OPD Chief Todd Schmaderer eventually reversed that decision.
Hanson defended the action and said the man had a weapon in the vehicle.
“I had to use minimal force to make sure he did not escape, that he did not assault me or my officers and that force was effective,” said Hanson.
The Omaha Police Department has since said the video was stolen; it took issue with the repetition of the GIF.
Greg Gonzalez — the recently retired OPD deputy chief who is running against Hanson — told 3 News Now that he had nothing to do with the video being taken or released, but says people can’t deny it happened.
“If we really care about transparency, address the fact that the video exists and the individual was in handcuffs and face the facts,” said Gonzalez.
Hanson responded.
“I’ve been transparent on the issue that my opponent has attacked me on. The video that him and his supporters stole,” said Hanson.
To be clear: Gonzalez denied stealing the video and said it was a third party. Nobody appears to have been charged with stealing the police video of the Hanson incident.
Gonzalez has faced relentless attacks as well, the Omaha Police Officers Association and former Sheriff Tim Dunning have gone hard against him.
One accusation is that Gonzalez could not pass a federal background check, Gonzalez says he could and also said he wouldn’t have been admitted and passed the FBI National Academy if he couldn’t.
Then, there’s a question of a secret agreement between Gonzalez and Omaha Police. Gonzalez says it’s simply a retirement agreement, but his opponent says more needs to be explained.
According to Gonzalez, it's because his wife, Kathy Belcastro-Gonzalez, was suing the department and, therefore, it was time to retire.
“We fought the good fight and, unfortunately, when I retired, I retired in good standing and I wanted everybody to know that factually,” said Gonzalez.
Hanson has asked Gonzalez to sign a paper allowing the city to speak on why Gonzalez left OPD. Gonzalez said in response that he wants to change state law to make these types of agreements public, but won’t release anything unilaterally unless the law changes.
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.