OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — This week’s decision to charge a bar owner who fatally shot a man during a chaotic night of protests in downtown Omaha months after the shooting was deemed self-defense highlights how difficult it can be to sort out these cases.
The key difference in the Omaha case is that the grand jury that reviewed the case had additional evidence about what happened before surveillance video showed Jake Gardner shooting 22-year-old James Scurlock on May 30 after the two scuffled.
Legal experts say prosecutors face a difficult task because the case will hinge on what both men intended to do that night.