Community leaders in North Omaha held a meeting Wednesday evening to address concerns about social media posts from the Omaha Police Officers Association that residents say mock community members.
The meeting at the North Omaha Community Center was co-facilitated by Kimara Snipes, a North Omaha native and vice president of the Omaha Public Schools Board. Snipes said the gathering was organized after she recognized someone in an OPOA Facebook post, a community member she knew who works with young people.
"When I started reading it I was just really disappointed because it was just humiliation, it was mockery and I just couldn't understand it although I have seen a history of that on that particular page," Snipes said.
The meeting drew neighbors from diverse backgrounds, including city employees, community advocates, and law enforcement officers. Some participants discussed recent OPOA posts and expressed concerns about their potential negative impact on the Black community, police trust, and the people featured in the posts.
Brian Riley, a community member, said the posts create division.
"I'll say it's not respectful to the community. You get a lot of negative and division in the community when you see posts and stuff like that," Riley said.
Linda Jensen, another attendee, worried about the broader impact on police-community relations.
"So many officers can dedicate a lifetime of work trying to build community connections and do things right within the community, specifically the Black community or North Omaha, and then some person can come in and ruin that work with a social media post," Jensen said.
OPOA President Patrick Dempsey said to KMTV in a statement: "We appreciate their concern, as it brings greater attention to violent crime, victims, and the violence Omaha police officers face everyday. The OPOA will continue to use social media to engage and inform the public."
Snipes said she wants to see social media used differently.
"I would like to see it used just for that though, engaging and informing, not humiliation, especially before someone even goes to trial, not humiliation of 14-year-old girls," Snipes said.
Snipes and co-facilitator Leo Louis II plan to review the meeting's comments and develop actionable next steps.
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