Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Omaha Police Officer

(AP News Omaha, NE July 3, 2021) A civil rights organization has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Omaha woman who says a police officer wrongfully and violently arrested her on Thanksgiving Day nearly two years ago. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday against Omaha Officer Ryan Keele.

In the lawsuit, 37-year-old Makayla Townsell says Keele and a partner showed up at her home on Thanksgiving Day 2019 as she was hosting a large family gathering. The officers were there to investigate a report of neglect involving her teenage son. The lawsuit says Keele threw Townsell to the ground, handcuffed and arrested her without probable cause. Charges against her were later dismissed, and the neglect report was deemed unfounded.