Terence “Bud” Crawford, who turned 38 on Sunday, was celebrating his birthday with hundreds of guests at the Steelhouse Omaha concert venue in downtown Omaha on Saturday night.
Precious McKesson, president of the North Omaha Neighborhood Alliance, was one of those guests. She saw the undefeated boxer walking around the arena, dancing with the guests in between receiving presents and a birthday cake.
“He was having a really good time. Bud was Bud,” McKesson said, adding that Crawford, a self-described teetotaler, was not drinking at the party.
The party was meant to be a celebratory cap to a day and night when Crawford, who became the first three-time undisputed champion in three different weight classes after defeating Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, was given a hometown hero’s ovation by 20,000 attendees of a parade thrown in his honor.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen proclaimed Crawford as Nebraska’s greatest male athlete at a press conference before the parade. Mayor John Ewing gave Crawford a key to the city.
But the night was tarnished when Crawford, along with three passengers, was pulled over by Omaha police officers heading toward Cass Street near the Interstate 480 on-ramp around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Officers ordered Crawford and the three passengers out of the vehicle at gunpoint after spotting a gun inside the car. Police Chief Todd Schmaderer has authorized an internal investigation into the incident. On Wednesday, Schmaderer told attendees of a community forum that he intends to offer a full explanation of what happened on Friday.
In the days since the late-night stop, some have viewed the incident as evidence that bias remains in the Omaha Police Department. Others have called for more oversight of the department and consequences for officers who violate community trust.
Why was Crawford pulled over?
A police report obtained by The World-Herald said Crawford was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving after two officers saw Crawford driving “at a high rate of speed” in a Lucid luxury sedan. The police report did not specify how fast Crawford was driving. Omaha police spokesperson Lt. Neal Bonacci said there wasn’t a radar gun reading that documented the sedan’s speed.
McKesson disputed the police allegation that Crawford was driving recklessly. She said she and Crawford, along with many other guests, had left the party about the same time. At one point, McKesson said, her and Crawford’s vehicles were next to each other as they drove away from the Steelhouse. She said Crawford was driving normally in busy traffic. McKesson said it would have been impossible for anyone to speed since numerous vehicles were leaving the party, as well as many pedestrians in the area.
“There was too much traffic to be speeding because we were all too close,” she said. “I literally couldn’t have gone over 25 miles (per hour) in that area because that’s how much traffic there was.”
Downtown Omaha was a hub of activity on Saturday night. In addition to Crawford’s party and earlier parade, the area also hosted a Keith Urban concert at the CHI Health Center and the Boomstock concert at the Gene Leahy Mall.
There are aspects beyond speed that go into an officer making a reckless driving citation, Bonacci said. An officer can issue a reckless driving ticket if they think conditions, including how populated the surrounding area is, warrant it, he added.
During the traffic stop, an officer ordered Crawford and the sedan’s passengers out at gunpoint after one officer saw a handgun on the driver’s side floorboard. The gun was later found to be legally owned. One of Crawford’s passengers was also found to be legally carrying a firearm. A police supervisor and lieutenant responded to the scene at Crawford’s request.
A video of the traffic stop, apparently taken by someone in the back seat of Crawford’s car, circulated on TikTok and other social media platforms. An Omaha police officer can be heard on the video telling Crawford to step out of the vehicle. Crawford can be seen placing both hands outside the driver’s window, telling the officer that he is removing his seat belt and then saying, “opening the door, opening the door.” Someone, presumably Crawford, says “I’m not reaching for no gun!” An officer responds “step out.”
McKesson, citing the video, said the incident could have turned out worse had Crawford and the passengers not been calm.
“The occupants in the vehicle were never a threat to (the officer),” she said.
Public officials raise concerns of officer conduct
Nebraska Sen. Terrell McKinney, whose legislative district includes Crawford’s native North Omaha community, called the traffic stop of Crawford “disappointing.” McKinney said Crawford informed him of what happened in a phone call.
McKinney called for increased police accountability through reforms made at various levels of government.
“It didn’t just happen … yesterday,” McKinney said. “There’s documented history going back before I was born of police not operating in the best way.”
One measure McKinney has proposed in the Nebraska Legislature is giving the Police Department’s Citizen Review Board more authority in addressing allegations of police misconduct. McKinney proposed the measure this past legislative session in Legislative Bill 276. McKinney’s bill has yet to make it out of committee.
Omaha City Council member LaVonya Goodwin, whose District 2 includes North Omaha, said the weekend’s law enforcement incident brings back painful memories of Black Omahans’ experience with law enforcement.
“For guns to be placed in his face is all too familiar for too many of us as African Americans,” Goodwin said. “I think that’s something that people don’t have to understand: They think you have to be a criminal. They think that you have to have broken the law to have been mistreated and/or mishandled by police.”
Goodwin recalled how police once pointed a gun in her father-in-law’s face and arrested him after he spoke out against the killing of 14-year-old Vivian Strong, who was shot and killed by a white police officer, James Loder, in North Omaha in June 1969. Strong’s killing marked the fourth time in the late 1960s that Omaha police officers shot and killed an unarmed Black teenager.
Goodwin said she’s heard from constituents representing all demographics and political persuasions who support an investigation into Crawford’s traffic stop.
“It’s not just the Black community that wants answers. It’s not just the Black community that found this incident disheartening,” Goodwin said.
The Crawford traffic stop in context
More recently, relations between law enforcement and Omaha’s Black community have been strained after recent law enforcement shootings in the city and other incidents. On Aug. 28, 2024, Omaha SWAT Officer Adam Vail shot and killed 37-year-old Cameron Ford, who was unarmed, while executing a no-knock search warrant at Ford’s home in north-central Omaha. Police suspended the use of some no-knock warrants and Vail was fired from the Police Department in the aftermath of Ford’s death. McKinney’s LB 276 would codify the ban on no-knock warrants.
This past spring, on May 22, a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy, Sgt. Jesse Ronk, shot and killed 19-year-old Janidi Ibrahim near 48th and Pratt Streets while Ronk and other deputies worked a firearms investigation. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Ronk shot Ibrahim after Ibrahim pointed a gun at the deputy. Ronk was not charged. A grand jury declined to indict him.
Schmaderer acknowledged the impact some recent contentious events involving law enforcement have had on community relations in a letter he wrote to Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson in the weeks after Ibrahim’s death.
Schmaderer wrote such high-profile incidents negatively impact all law enforcement. Harm done to community relations, Schmaderer wrote, “will be irreparable unless meaningful action is taken.”
Willie Barney, founder and executive director of the Empowerment Network in North Omaha, said it’s imperative that whenever incidents occur between law enforcement and members of a community, discussions should be held to improve communication and find solutions. One venue for that is Omaha 360, which is an initiative of the Empowerment Network.
Crawford’s traffic stop generated passionate discussion at the Omaha 360 community forum on Wednesday.
Schmaderer fielded questions from frustrated and concerned Black Omahans asking, among other things, how police conduct their internal investigations; how police officers are trained to interact with the Black community; and what were the officers’ motivations for stopping Crawford.
The Omaha 360 meetings are held every Wednesday and are designed to bring community members and law enforcement officers together, Barney said.
“Everybody has more work to do in this whole process, especially when there are these higher-profile incidents,” Barney said. “We acknowledge that there are gaps that absolutely must be addressed. That’s why we keep coming to the table. This is not something where you come once, twice or only when things are difficult.”
Barney praised Schmaderer and other members of the Omaha Police Department for being responsive to community concerns. He also praised Crawford and Crawford’s head of security, Qasim Shabazz, for de-escalating the situation as depicted on the video. Shabazz was in the car with Crawford at the time of the incident.
“We need to recognize the seriousness of it, the feeling and anger from people in the community who want to see that this is addressed properly,” Barney added.
The Rev. T. Michael Williams, president of Omaha NAACP, expressed confidence the Police Department’s internal investigation will be handled properly.
“I don’t think the general policy of our Police Department is mistreating people of color,” Williams said. “I also think there could be elements of our Police Department that don’t follow the policy of the leadership.”
Bonacci declined to address the concerns raised by community leaders, pending the result of the internal investigation.
Crawford has declined to comment on the incident through a spokesperson.
While Crawford’s supporters await the results of the internal investigation and possible action, many of them do not want the traffic stop to overshadow what was otherwise a joyous day for Crawford and what he has meant to Omaha.
“Terence is a champion,” Goodwin said. “He’s not just a champion for North Omaha. He’s a champion for Omaha. He’s a champion for Nebraska. He’s a champion for any kid — Black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American or anything in between — to dream, to rise above, to triumph. That’s really what this story is about.”
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Dan Crisler
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