District Attorney Declines to Charge Former HSU Student and Bar Owner Who Fatally Shot Protester in Omaha
Family of James Scurlock calls for Grand Jury investigation after Douglas County District Attorney declined to press charges against bar owner and former Humboldt State University student, Jacob “Jake” Gardner. [UPDATE: Humboldt State University says they did not have a student with that name in the time frame he listed. “It’s possible he changed his name, or some other reason he’s not indicated in our records of attendance, said Grant Scott-Goforth, spokesperson for HSU]
Jake Gardner’s LinkedIn profile photo.
Gardner, a business owner, fatally shot Scurlock in an altercation that occurred during protests where buildings were damaged. According to Omaha’s 6 News video, District Attorney Don Kleine said there was “a lot of misinformation” about the shooting.
See minute marker 7:30 for where Kleine describes his department’s perceptions of what occurred. He said that eyewitnesses said the business had been damaged by rioters. Gardener’s father had been pushed and Gardner responded.
Then that is where the viral video began. It showed Gardener showing his weapon, backing up, being tackled, and then firing his weapon.
In other video, Scurlock is shown having a chokehold on Gardner from behind. Kleine describes the video which he shows on screen and he says they have audio of the bar owner saying, “Get off me, get off me” several times. At that point, Gardner fires and hits Scurlock in his clavicle.
About 20 minutes in Kleine says, “If someone is in fear for their own life” that then a shooting is justifiable.
The family of the victim had a press conference immediately following the District Attorney’s and said they were unhappy with the decision and called for an investigation by the Grand Jury.
Earlier Chapter: Omaha Bar Owner and Former Humboldt State Student Accused of Killing Black Protester
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Good.
Maybe the deceased’s family should investigate why their son was involved in a violent riot and assaulting strangers.
It was exactly what needed to happen, about a thousand times over across this country last night. Sadly nobody will learn.
Over property. Cute. None of this sinks in with the true followers of the orange messiah. Simply can’t fathom why this is going on. Matter of fact, many of them are pushing a race war.
I’m a full supporter of the 2nd Am. I’ll take the .44 Dragoon and the Mini-14 and stand between the masked mouth breathers that feel they have to go to the Capital to show off their manhood and the Governor any time. They’re usually just scared, simple, misled children. Lied to. 8 years of Obama, and how many of your guns did he confiscate? Liars.
I had family die in WWII at the hands of nazis, and I’m getting pissed. I don’t vote with or for anyone that tolerates nazis. It’s his base. Maybe there’ll be a decent republican again some day, but he (or she) is nowhere on the horizon of late.
Much could be said of the Democratic Candidate.
Your ability to recognize your own cognitive dissonance is a stark reminder of how well this game has divided the unified.
“I had family die in WWII at the hands of nazis, and I’m getting pissed. I don’t vote with or for anyone that tolerates nazis.” It applies to many of the people you pick to hate so virulently too since that’s an irrelevancy to the issue. And apparently doesn’t even provide any personal clarity either. There’s no virtue monitor on a right. If there were, no one who have any rights at all no matter how self righteous they are.
Besides it’s likely you were born pissed.
Pushing it, Guest.
Thank you, Kym.
Kym, why does the title of this article read “protester” as opposed to “attacker”?
The video footage clearly shows Scurlock jumping on / attacking Garnder.
Let’s please make sure we are being objective and not publishing biased headlines.
Well, now, some folks appear to think Scurlock was trying to save Gardner from shooting a family member. So everyone agrees (except you maybe) that Scurlock was part of the protest (whether the peaceful part or not is debated) so that’s true and it’s more neutral.
“Some folks appear to think” does not constitute reality.
While certainly part of the protest, Scurlock clearly jumped on Gardner who had just been attacked by someone else.
What might your perspective be if you were attacked by a protester participating in a slew of demonstrations that have been exceptionally violent, and after your initial attacker is removed, yet another protester jumps on you?
Just as it can be assumed Scurlock was trying to save a family member, it can also be assumed most folks would likely not jump on a man who was just attacked by and fired a gun at another individual.
My point is there are equally opposing points of view and for that reason your title remains biased.
An appropriate, unbiased, title would read “man who jumped on him”.
Scurlock was also part of the protest.
He was indeed part of the protest, I acknowledged that in my comment. It is most unfortunate that a young man lost his life in the mix up.
Nevertheless, your title remains biased and I have illustrated that for you in my above comment. Do you disagree?
If you disagree, could you explain how your title is not biased?
And if you can see my point, can you explain why you won’t change the title of the publication?
Also, see below:
https://www.rapsheetz.com/nebraska/doc-prisoner/SCURLOCK_JAMES/82798
Are you able to locate any significant public record for Gardner?
Would appreciate a thoughtful reply.
Gardner:
For his part, Gardner has been arrested on criminal charges at least four times, public records show.
In 2013, police picked him up on assault and battery charges, and also hit him with a count of failing to tell an officer he had a concealed handgun. The gun charge was dismissed in a plea deal that saw him pay $200 in fines.
In 2011, after being nabbed for alleged reckless driving, he was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon, which was downgraded to disturbing the peace in a plea deal that resulted in a $200 fine.
Gardner’s record also includes two arrests from 1998 and 1999, one for reckless driving and one for third-degree assault, and a number of traffic offenses.
Court records that would provide details of each arrest were not available. Gardner’s family declined to comment, and refused to provide The Daily Beast with the name of his attorney. https://www.thedailybeast.com/omaha-bar-owner-jake-gardner-held-in-shooting-of-black-protester-james-scurlock-has-gun-arrests
Great find, thanks for offering some neutrality. If only the same were reflected in your headlines regarding this case.
But I understand you have a polarized message to deliver and a wonderful platform to do so.
People need to learn how to respect others. Its obviously something that is lacking with all people all the way around. Protecting ones property is our right, if you have worked hard enough to own something, it shouldn’t be destroyed on a whim by rioting assholes. Dispensing hot lead may not be morally the same as teaching others to respect ones property, but it will yield the same results much faster. Btw a Kimber 1911 or a S and W .357 686 with an 8 inch barrel will solve most respect issues. A good ol’ lever action Marlin .44 mag for needing to dispense respect at a distance is nice to have on hand as well.
Ditto. Self defense of life and property should not be a crime.
“ society will never be for the better when criminals are treated like victims and citizens are treated like criminals.”
Maybe Gardeners father provoked the whole damn thing. He had no business pushing people around, creating agitation. People seemed to have missed that.Gardener appears to have a sketchy past, and an expired permit to carry a gun. Wtf
Yes, there must be some justification for vandalism, assaulting an old man, then a three-on-one assault, I know it, I know it, I just know it…..
Interestingly enough, there were only 51 arrests the night Gardner killed Scurlock.
Most were “failure to disburse” during protests.
Obviously 1 of 51 was for murder ( Gardner).
Seems like there wasn’t many assault arrests either.
It’s quite possible, and perhaps likely, that father intervened in with the group to say something to them.
What and how he said won’t be known.
You can spin any fantasy you want. You apparently can justify a physical assault over unknown words but not a shooting over a actual physical assault. And that doesn’t raise a question about the standards of judgment?
I don’t think anyone involved was making good decisions.
But I tried to see if there were assaults that night, you’re welcome to look.
There were reports that Spurlock was involved in looting, so no, I’m not overlooking any poor judgement.
But the night could have continued without a death, if someone hadn’t been packing heat when they shouldn’t have been.
The gun adds value to the story.
And someone could have been badly injured or killed in a three-on-one mob attack if he hadn’t been packing heat. Even when things got heavy, Gardner did everything he could to delay injuring or killing someone with his gun. He fired two warning shots, which made thugs #1 and #2 flee. He asked thug #3 to get off of him repeatedly before firing the fatal shot (and it wasn’t the most certainly lethal shot he could have taken in that situation). Having a gun as backup when defending your business while fires are burning across the nation is not a bad decision. It was one made by more than a few Koreans during the 1992 Koreatown pogrom and guess what? It stopped the pogrom. One piece of graffiti sprayed during the pogrom was
“FIRST WE BURN THEM OUT
THEN WE REBUILD”
Care to guess who “we” and “them” refer to?
I think the gun adds more to Gardner’s psychology of the night, than a lack of a gun by the Spurlock’s psychology of the evening
Gardner may have not been involved in any shit at all if he didn’t have lead balls and brains that night.
He knew he had the final say ready.
The shit started when the mob started to vandalize his bar. Then the mob grew assaultive. His having a gun did not cause that. Gardner cannot be faulted for having the means to protect himself in that situation.
Trying to keep the looter’s from destroying his property when 4 blacks jumped Gardener.So he fired off 2 round’s and that’s when another black jumped him from behind trying to choke him out.I see it as a hate crime.Gardener was trying to protect his bar,his father and himself.
Amen
All protests that turn from protest to violence must automatically have martial law declared. These criminals will not quit any other way. By declaring martial law many lives and much property damage will not happen.
The problem is that there is a discrete point in time where these events go from protest to destructive/violent events. Declaring Martial law ahead of the time is infringing on peoples’ right to free speech and peaceable assembly.
Peaceable assemble is the point where it changes. When you got from holding signs to swinging hammers, and stealing shit you’ve crossed the line! This is the kind of stuff children do, not adults that work hard for what they have. That’s not a race thing, that’s an entitlement thing, and they can all get put down!
Then the feds could shut down any protest by infiltrating and inciting violence
Exactly right – maybe I’ll put on a MAGA hat, go to the next right wing rally, and start causing trouble so that martial law is declared and everyone can get arrested.
Some people like government control And living off of subsidies. I believe there called socialists.
I believe he’s called: the jerk in the Whitehouse!
Surprising to hear rhetoric about Trump which is so similar to Trump’s.
Someone with a brain, awesome!
We would still be England by your plan.
So what is your position on the armed anti lockdown protesters that forced their way into the Michigan State Capitol building?
The three musketeers ALF FOG and ‘ol [edit] 1911 definitely weren’t afraid of a virus, but when it comes to civil unrest…
I am not afraid of civil unrest. I am afraid of what the government’s reaction to civil unrest will be. I don’t fear any human or virus, but I fear conglomerate groups of power hungry people who seek positions of power to abuse. The riots that have been happening don’t just give the government an excuse to institute martial law, it gives government a really good excuse to institute martial law. I have a problem disrespectful rioters selling my rights down the river for me. That is what will happen if martial law is instituted. So my fear is still the same, fear of government overreach.
On another note, if I owned a business in Eureka I would’ve been sitting out front with my 12 gauge Benelli, protecting my business. The government sucks, people are insane, communists are everywhere, and we are headed toward martial law all because a bunch of people aren’t thinking about the future consequences for their actions. I really get stoked watching a small group of people piss away all of our freedom.
The right to defend yourself and your property is beyond vital in times of civil unrest. The targets should be solely instruments of the state.
Good.
Peaceful protests, ok.
Antifa style violent protests, bad.
Antifa style playbook:
They Put on their beanie, and their combat boots,
They Pay poor locals to put up barricades then with their trained paramilitary team:
they start fires at businesses,
finally they travel to the next city, then they rinse and repeat.
Antifa style protests, bad, dangerous, not tolerated, those engaging in Antifa style violence should be put in jail, period.
I feel sorry for the souls of these miserly commenters. Do they know the real looters just took trillions of our dollars and gave them away to billionaire corporations, while the loans to small businesses are conditional…
Due to their terrible website, IRS and I missed our connection and I will have to fight for my stimulus check. $1200 would have paid off my credit card and helped renew my insurance.
The balance of power and wealth, slipping through our fingers with a Netflix original fueled trigger system.
please unleash the military to take care of those who seek to burn, loot, and destroy this country
Amen. Let’s make America great again….
Except using the Military against our own citizens is already way down a slippery slope, picking up speed. Trump wants dictatorial power, (and you seem ready for it) and he offers no actual leadership. It’s a bad, unAmerican situation to be in. Should I go retrieve some video of Pompeo, or chump talking about civil unrest in Venezuela, or Iran, Maybe we should take your chosen one’s own words as advice in this situation.
YA! Only white immigrants are allowed to do that to steal land. Not people fighting for equality and their lives.
people fighting for equality and lives??? You be trippin.
Of course the parents aren’t thinking about how they might have raised their son better so he wouldn’t be out seeking trouble under the cover of protest. This wasn’t little Jimmy’s first rodeo.
https://www.rapsheetz.com/nebraska/doc-prisoner/SCURLOCK_JAMES/82798
Of course not. They are the ones who taught the children to hate in the first place. These kids are taught entitlement and hate instead of love and personal responsibility.
Too bad those terrorists at the Boston Tea Party didnt get shot and killed!!
Dumping the king’s tea is not the same as destroying you neighbors bar.
It wasn’t the King’s tea. It belonged to the East India Company. And George Washington didn’t approve. As a rich landowner he held private property shouldn’t be messed with.
And the value of the tea wasn’t the piddling amount it would cost to replace the glass in the bar windows either. In today’s money it was worth about a million dollars. https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-boston-tea-party
I’m a business owner and a land owner so I’m not much for destroying private property either but I tend to think the best way of protecting what I have from unruly mobs who don’t care because they don’t have any wealth of their own to protect is to make sure they too prosper.
The nation was prospering before the COVID-19 virus. I think this was a perfect storm of frustration. I condemn violence strongly, both against property and person.
A narrowing field of the Nation was prospering before Covid. There’s a report out last night, a handful of individuals have profited over 400 Billion dollars in the last two months. That was your money. now it’s their money
And the point is? That a pandemic lockdown enriched a few to the cost of many?
Nope. It was a house of cards based on debt with very little increase in real wealth. COVID-19 shook the table. Most of the government relief went to high rollers making money off of debt while everyone else got left holding the bag,
Thank you Kym.
I was wondering if there was any empathy left in the comments section. (Sometimes I wonder why I read them at all, but it reflects the zeitgeist, or a dark recess of it., so I do read them, and am sometimes compelled to publish responses. More often than not, I read my own comments, reflect on them, then delete them. It’s cathartic. )
I can usually count on you to shine a brighter light on a bigger picture to open other minds.
Thanks again,
Bill
After reading the comment section here, I have at least come to see that for some folks fear that someone might take their stuff overrides any sense that other people are disadvantaged from birth and might need a helping hand.
I’m trying to learn not to get angry but to find ways of expressing facts to them.
Oh geeze Kym. Facts huh? The difference between a society that provides for most (all is never an option) does not come from taking from some and giving to a few according to how sympathetic you feel. It comes from ensuring everyone benefits. In other words, don’t provide a school lunch to poor kids. Provide it to all kids. Then no one has to prove the “deserve” their “hand ” out, which leads to faud, arbitrary cut offs, adversaries, inequity by rules, frustration, demands and anger. No- provide it to all equally so that those who need it get and those who don’t need it are still have an investment in it and want to protect it. That is the difference between the destructive (and frankly irrational) empathy and a principle.
You mean you wouldn’t protect your “stuff” from people coming to commit vandalism or robbery against you because you feel they are disadvantaged and you owe it to them? Make that decision for yourself if you want to, but don’t for a minute think that makes you morally superior to people who make a different decision. Everybody’s situation is different and for some losing a small amount of “stuff” can make a huge difference to their lives and livelihoods.
It’s a little different when your land and business are located in Salmon Creek than when they are in an urban location. I doubt conditions in the two locations were at all similar.
As a portion of British East India’s wealth the lost tea had much less impact than the vandalism experienced by small businesses. And as the property of a Crown Corporation, the status of the tea as being either private or government property is cloudy. The Founders had an anti-corporate orientation because corporations were seen as instruments of control and market domination by foreign governments, consistent with their experience with British East India.
Not from the current situation, but during the Rodney King riots one thing that attracted attention was how secure and middle class a lot of the people arrested for looting were. Some people get a rush from taking or destroying stuff even though in the long run it does not improve their situation and they are not desperate to start with.
3-5 years and he is 22 years old this guy was recently released from prison.
Play stupid games win stupid prizes! Good job for defending your business and the others around you
“We are witnessing failure of leadership from the bottom to the top,” Napolitano, a former New Jersey Superior Court judge, said on Fox News Radio’s “Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla.”
Napolitano criticized Trump, who he has repeatedly called out in recent years, for telling governors in a Monday call to “dominate” protesters. He also slammed Trump’s tweeting of inflammatory languageabout the demonstrations.
“These words make things worse. They don’t lighten the tension. They exacerbate it,” Napolitano argued.
Elsewhere in the interview, Napolitano criticized the leadership of some governors and questioned why Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
“That is hardly this case,” he said. “This is first-degree murder.”
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5ed614d0c5b6ccd7c56b6be0?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueWFob28uY29tL2h1ZmZwb3N0L2FuZHJldy1uYXBvbGl0YW5vLWRvbmFsZC10cnVtcC1wcm90ZXN0cy1sYW5ndWFnZS0wOTM4NDg3NjMuaHRtbA&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALUxetIetAkHgprFoATZhuDyfO2wXvDPHzDM1JckKbUMIV4EC4t8b2A9IezeqyQcPUf9FF9aAf9QAwBa7MxUKXI3D0pvem4OcE04K6KLAe58wi4BVmXSuzahlH1oTAZxrN0tHvG2GEu3FAlv5OqySZkJi7ewfx9xDJfZNaPd4vJS
NO. You’re wrong, we’re not seeing the entire video segment of the actions of George.
There’s a large missing piece of video that shows a barbaric George. MSM is concealing some facts.
Why did LEO remove the violent arrestee from their squad car?
That was all quotes by Napolitano, you know him.
(Generally, Italics followed by a link means “this statement was taken from this source”)
If you think he is wrong, that’s your decision.
So you have seen a video no one has seen that justifies a cop on a dead black neck for almost 10 minutes – and you’re not going to post a link?
Stay classy.
I said that you’re wrong.
You know the middle portion of the amateur videos isn’t being shown.
There’s no justification for his death. There’s missing facts.
I hope to not see the video at all.
It’s a trigger for me to watch a murder like that.
Used to see the videos of police killings, not anymore though.
Either point us to where we can find such video or STFU.
Strange twist: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/us/jacob-gardner-suicide.html
Jake Gardner was defending his business from vandalism when Mr. Scurlock recently released from prison and likely just having vandalized another business attacked Mr. Gardner with 2 other people. He fought off two of them but Mr. Scurlock chose to try to put a chokehold on an armed ex marine who told him repeatedly to get off which is when Mr. Scurlock tried to get a hold of Mr. Gardner’s firearm and Mr. Gardner in fear for his life shot Mr. Scurlock. The DA quickly concluded self defense. Afterwards the DA was relentlessly harrassed state and local lawmakers were told hearsay about Mr. Gardner making racist statements with no proof whatsoever and after an extensive campaign the DA charged Mr. Gardner whose business was permanently closed by rioters pressuring the landlord shot himself. How’s that different from a lynch mob.
Because they LITERALLY DIDN’T LYNCH HIM. Here in America, we call it the right to publically assemble and redress grievances. Calling that a “LyNcH mOb” is Orwellian.
Got that backwards. It was an Orwellian lynch mob.
Finally, some semblance of justice. R.I.H. gardner!