Nebraska lawmakers to hold hearings on policing, racial equity

Nebraska lawmakers will hold two hearings next week to hear public input about law enforcement and racial equity in the state.

Members of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee will convene Monday at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha’s Aksarben Village. They’ll meet Tuesday at the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications office in Lincoln.

Both events will be live-streamed online and on television by NET.

Sen. Steve Lathrop, the committee chairman, announced the hearings following the public outcry over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and James Scurlock in Nebraska. Scurlock, who is black, was fatally shot by a white bar owner during an Omaha protest over Floyd’s death.

The committee oversees Nebraska’s justice system, including law enforcement, the state courts and state prisons.

“Nebraskans have had the opportunity to express themselves through public demonstrations over the past two weeks,” Lathrop, of Omaha, said in a news release. “Now we are providing an opportunity to appeal directly to elected officials.”