How peculiar - Obama suddenly is almost silent on Chicago Police Murder of Black Man

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After inflaming racial tensions by condemning police treatment of Blacks in Ferguson and Baltimore on television and in the media, suddenly Obama uses Facebook

Here was the lead news story today, from Chicago, the number one city in America in murders in 2014 and for several years.

Journalist Brandon Smith, left, and activist William Calloway talk to reporters Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, after a Cook County judge ordered the Chicago Police Department to release a video of an officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald on Nov. 25, in Chicago. The video is said to show the officer shooting McDonald 16 times in October 2014. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

ABC News

By don babwin and jason keyser, associated press

CHICAGO — Nov 25, 2015, 1:54 AM ET

Officer Charged With Murder in Teen's Death

A white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times last year was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday, hours before the city released a video of the killing that many people fear could spark unrest.

City officials and community leaders have been bracing for the release of the dash-cam video, fearing the kind of turmoil that occurred in cities such as Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, after young black men were slain by police or died in police custody.

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Obama goes from press conferences and television interviews to condemn police actions to just posting in his new Facebook account saying he is "deeply disturbed" by what happened!  Now wait a minute, this time there is no doubt the event was unjustified, an abuse of power, and an excessive use of a firearm and Obama is only "deeply disturbed."

Perhaps the media is protecting him from the real story.  Chicago, of course, is Obama's home.  The Mayor of Chicago is Obama's former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.  Not only was Rahm his right hand man, he was also the top fund raiser for the Obama campaigns because of his relationship as an executive in Goldman Sachs before he went to work for Obama.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Warren Buffett

The year-long lack of action by the prosecutor in Chicago and the brutal and senseless killing by firing sixteen shots into the victim, who was high on PCP at the time, were about as conclusive of evidence as possible.

A video from a camera mounted on a Police car was suppressed by the Chicago authorities, and only came to light when a judge order the release, which happened today, a year later.  It showed sixteen shots in fifteen seconds.

The City of Chicago seemed to try to minimize the impact of any evidence and keep the whole case out of the media while Rahm Emanuel ran and got re-elected as Mayor during the past year by paying $5 million in hush money, before any charges were even filed.

Maybe it is about time a federal investigation of the role Emanuel had in withholding the video and paying off the family should be investigate.  You might add to that investigate why Obama nearly ignored commenting on this racial incident after being all over the news on all previous incidents.

It seems awfully like a cover-up in Obama's hometown.  Emanuel won a run off for mayor just last April after none of the five candidates were able to get 50% of the vote.  Strange how the liberal media is selectively silent when it comes to our president.

Here is what he had to say about police actions before the incident happened in his hometown.

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President Obama's Facebook post says he's "deeply disturbed" by video showing teen shot by Chicago police officer.  November 25, 2015

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The Washington Times

Obama says Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson ‘stains the heart of black children’

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times - Sunday, September 28, 2014

President Obama said the shooting death of a black teen by a white police officer last month in Ferguson, Missouri, exposed the racial divide in the American justice system that “stains the heart of black children.”

Speaking at the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner in Washington on Saturday night, Mr. Obama said the death of Michael Brown “awakened our nation” to a reality that black citizens already understood.

“In too many communities around the country, a gulf of mistrust exists between local residents and law enforcement,” Mr. Obama said. “Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement — guilty of walking while black or driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness.”

Mediaite

Obama on Baltimore: ‘No Dispute’ Men of Color Disproportionately Targeted by Police

by Tina Nguyen | 4:08 pm, May 4th, 2015

And that sense of unfairness and of powerlessness, of people not hearing their voices, that’s helped fuel some of the protests we’ve seen in places like Baltimore and Ferguson and right here in New York. The catalyst of those protests were the tragic deaths of young men and a feeling that law is not always applied evenly in this country. In too many places in this country, black boys and black men, Latino boys, Latino men — they experience being treated differently by law enforcement. In stops and in arrests and in charges and in incarcerations. The statistics are clear up and down the criminal justice system. There’s no dispute.

CNN

Obama: 'No excuse' for violence in Baltimore

By Eric Bradner, CNN

Updated 5:08 PM ET, Tue April 28, 2015

The growing violence in Baltimore, just 40 miles from the White House, represents another challenge for the Obama administration in addressing racial unrest across the country. Since the police killing of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, last summer, the administration has worked to acknowledge deep frustrations in minority communities while also supporting law enforcement.

Obama said he spoke with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who was sworn in Monday, said the Justice Department is investigating Gray's death.

Just hours after she was sworn in, Lynch was at the White House on Monday evening meeting with Obama to discuss the violent protests unfolding in Baltimore. She said she will send Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and Ronald Davis, director of Community Oriented Policing Services, to Baltimore "in the coming days" to meet with religious and community leaders.

Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms arson investigators are aiding local authorities in investigating 60 fires — 10 structure fires like a CVS and a nursing home construction site, the others vehicles — in Baltimore on Monday night.

The White House sent three representatives to Baltimore on Monday for Gray's funeral: Broderick Johnson, a native of the city and the chairman of the My Brother's Keeper Task Force; Heather Foster, an adviser in the White House Office of Public Engagement; and Elias Alcantara, the associate director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

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Tragedy again strikes in America - Gunman kills nine in Charleston, SC Church

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Once again, there was another mass killing and once again, the racial activists, social activists, and the news media labeled it another "Hate Crime."

We have now had 70 such killings since 1982.  Here was the news bulletin. 

A devastating attack took place on Wednesday night at a historic black church in Charleston.

From the New York Times:

A white gunman opened fire Wednesday evening at a historic black church in downtown Charleston, S.C., before fleeing, the police said, and nine people were killed. The Charleston Police Department said the shooting occurred at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church about 9 p.m.

Officials did not release information about possible victims. The police described the gunman as a clean-shaven white man about 21 years-old who was wearing a gray sweatshirt, bluejeans and Timberland boots.

According to the Post and Courier, Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen said at a press conference late Wednesday night, "I do believe it's a hate crime."

Most mass shooters in the United States have been white males, as our investigation of three decades worth of data shows. In most cases, the killers obtained their guns legally.

At least one other mass shooting was carried out in recent years at a house of worship, in August 2012 at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. And in April 2014 in Kansas City, a white supremacist opened fire in a Jewish retirement community, killing three.

As of early Thursday morning, the suspect in Charleston remained at large, and none of the victims had yet been publicly identified.

Before they even caught the killer the news media, law enforcement, and social activists already called it a hate crime and raised the issue of gun control.

Well I beg to differ with all of them.  The mass killing sprees plaguing America are far more likely to be the result of the horrendous over-prescription of legal drugs by our medical community.

There is no way to judge the actions of a mass murderer to a hate crime because in this nation nothing, not even prejudice, can justify murder.  There will always be the occasional nut case who gets carried away but mass murder is a real distraction from the truth.

The truth is nearly two-thirds of Americans are taking legal prescriptions of anti-psychotic and anti-depressive drugs, or other dangerous drugs, to get off their addiction to legal drugs.          

One of the key side effects of these prescription drugs is to amplify paranoia, delusion, or suicide tendencies.  Our failure to address mental health as a key cause of mass killings, a state of mental health intensified in the dark side by legally prescribed drugs, ignores the realities of the mass killings.

Today I want to expose all the scientific evidence that our prescription happy society is triggering mass murders at an ever-increasing rate.  A follow up article will address how this destabilization of the brain by prescription drugs opens the mind to an invasion from the dark or evil side of life.

Here are excerpts from a series of articles about mass killings and prescription drugs in America.  If you pay attention, you will note the connections between the side effects of drugs and the hideous acts of violence from legal drug users. 

Mother Jones

A Guide to Mass Shootings in America

There have been at least 69 in the last three decades—and most of the killers got their guns legally.

By Mark Follman, Gavin Aronsen, and Deanna Pan

Updated: Sat May 24, 2014, 10:45 PM EDT

It is perhaps too easy to forget how many times this has happened. The horrific mass murder at a movie theater in Colorado in July 2012, another at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin that August, another at a manufacturer in Minneapolis that September—and then the unthinkable nightmare at a Connecticut elementary school that December—were some of the latest in an epidemic of such gun violence over the last three decades.

Since 1982, there have been at least 69 mass shootings across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii. Thirty-two of these mass shootings have occurred since 2006. Seven of them took place in 2012, and another five occurred in 2013, including in Santa Monica, California, and at the Washington Navy Yard. The first five months of 2014 brought major gun rampages at Fort Hood and in northern and southern California.

We've gathered detailed data on more than three decades of cases and mapped them below, including information on the shooters' profiles, the types of weapons they used, and the number of victims they injured and killed. The below analysis covers the cases from 1982 through 2012, and the map and database have been updated with cases through 2013.*

Weapons: Of the 143 guns possessed by the killers, more than three quarters were obtained legally. The arsenal included dozens of assault weapons and semi-automatic handguns with high-capacity magazines. (See charts below.) Just as Jeffrey Weise used a .40-caliber Glock to slaughter students in Red Lake, Minnesota, in 2005, so too did James Holmes, along with an AR-15 assault rifle, when blasting away at his victims in a darkened movie theater. In Newtown, Connecticut, Adam Lanza wielded a .223 Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle as he massacred 20 school children and six adults.

The killers: More than half of the cases involved school or workplace shootings (12 and 20, respectively); the other 30 cases took place in locations including shopping malls, restaurants, and religious and government buildings. Forty four of the killers were white males. Only one of them was a woman. (See Goleta, Calif., in 2006.) The average age of the killers was 35, though the youngest among them was a mere 11 years old. (See Jonesboro, Ark., in 1998.) A majority were mentally troubled—and many displayed signs of it before setting out to kill. Explore the map for further details—we do not consider it to be all-inclusive, but based on the criteria we used we believe that we've produced the most comprehensive rundown available on this particular type of violence. (Mass shootings represent only a sliver of America's overall gun violence.)

Our focus is on public mass shootings in which the motive appeared to be indiscriminate killing. We used the following criteria to identify cases:

The shooter took the lives of at least four people. An FBI crime classification report identifies an individual as a mass murderer—versus a spree killer or a serial killer—if he kills four or more people in a single incident (not including himself), typically in a single location.

The killings were carried out by a lone shooter. (Except in the case of the Columbine massacre and the Westside Middle School killings, which involved two shooters.)

The shootings occurred in a public place. (Except in the case of a party on private property in Crandon, Wisconsin, and another in Seattle, where crowds of strangers had gathered.) Crimes primarily related to gang activity, armed robbery, or domestic violence in homes are not included.

If the shooter died or was hurt from injuries sustained during the incident, he is included in the total victim count. (But we have excluded many cases in which there were three fatalities and the shooter also died, per the above FBI criterion.)

We included a handful of so-called "spree killings"—cases in which the killings occurred in more than one location over a short period of time, that fit the above criteria.

For more on the thinking behind our criteria, see our mass shootings explainer. Plus: more on the crucial mental illness factor, and on the recent barrage of state laws rolling back gun restrictions across the US. And: Explore the full data set behind our investigation.

Here are two charts detailing the killers' weapons:

Antipsychotic Drug Definition

Antipsychotics are drugs used in the treatment of brain disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression. According to the New York Times, antipsychotics are one of the largest types of prescribed drugs in the United States with over 3.1 million Americans accounting for a market worth USD 18 billion in 2011 itself. Global estimates suggest that over 1.25% of the global population suffers from psychosis and related disorders. This brings a market of about 7.5 million people suffering from combined disorders of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia, depression among other rare conditions. Several recent studies have suggested instances of drug abuse and over prescription of these drugs in the market, particularly in North America. Clinical studies have shown severe drawbacks and addiction to antipsychotic drugs. A serious side effect observed is tardive dyskinesia which is a potentially irreversible movement disorder. These drugs are prescribed for mild symptoms as well, increasing the market for the drugs tremendously.

WND EXCLUSIVE

70 million Americans taking mind-altering drugs

Exclusive: David Kupelian tells untold story of nation's rapidly escalating drug dependence

Published: 02/09/2014 at 4:25 PM

The heroin-overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has caused the media to focus, however fleetingly, on America’s drug problem.

News accounts of the Oscar-winner’s tragic demise typically reference the startling increase in heroin-related deaths in the last four to five years. The problem, reporters explain, is the vast number of Americans addicted to prescription pain meds like OxyContin, many of whom discover heroin to be both cheaper and easier to obtain than the prescription opioid drugs to which they initially became addicted.

That’s accurate as far as it goes. But by following the trail further, we arrive at a place far more shocking and consequential. We discover that not only has the traditional distinction between illegal “street drugs” and legal “therapeutic prescription drugs” become so blurred as to be almost nonexistent, but between America’s twin drug epidemics – one illegal, the other legal – well over 70 million Americans are using mind-altering drugs. And that number doesn’t include abusers of alcohol, which adds an additional 60 million Americans. So we’re really talking about 130 million strung-out Americans. How is this possible?

Examples of opioids are: Painkillers such as; morphine, methadone, Buprenorphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Heroin is also an opioid and is illegal. Opioid drugs sold under brand names include: OxyContin®, Percocet®, Palladone®(taken off the market 7/2005), Vicodin®, Percodan®, Tylox® and Demerol® among others.

Opioids are medications that relieve pain. They reduce the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain and affect those brain areas controlling emotion, which diminishes the effects of a painful stimulus. Medications that fall within this class include hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin), oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin, Percocet), morphine (e.g., Kadian, Avinza), codeine, and related drugs. Hydrocodone products are the most commonly prescribed for a variety of painful conditions, including dental and injury-related pain. Morphine is often used before and after surgical procedures to alleviate severe pain. Codeine, on the other hand, is often prescribed for mild pain. In addition to their painrelieving properties, some of these drugs—codeine and diphenoxylate (Lomotil) for example—can be used to relieve coughs and severe diarrhea.

The abuse of and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers is a serious global problem that affects the health, social, and economic welfare of all societies.  It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin.  The consequences of this abuse have been devastating and are on the rise.  For example, the number of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain relievers has soared in the United States, more than quadrupling since 1999.  There is also growing evidence to suggest a relationship between increased non-medical use of opioid analgesics and heroin abuse in the United States.

CERTAIN MEDICATIONS TAKEN ROUTINELY BY A HUNDRED MILLION AMERICANS FOUND T0 CAUSE USERS TO COMMIT MURDER AT HIGHER RATES

06-01-2015 7:45 pm - Mike Adams - Natural News

Just as Natural News has warned for over a decade, mind-altering medications such as tranquilizers and psychiatric drugs (SSRIs) have now been confirmed to increase the risk of a person committing murder.

A new study published in the journal World Psychiatry (June 1 edition, not yet found on the web) found that several classes of prescription medications -- including antidepressant drugs, tranquilizers and anti-inflammatory painkillers -- markedly increased the chances of someone murdering another human being.

This link has long been suspect in antidepressants, which have been repeatedly linked to mass school shootings in the United States.

"I think that these chemical substances affect the impulse control of the person," Dr. Jari Tiihonen, lead author and a professor, told Medical Daily. "The only surprising result was that painkillers also increase the risk."

According to the study's findings:

• Antidepressant drugs increased the risk of committing homicide by 31%.

• Tranquilizers increased the risk of committing homicide by 45%.

• Opioid pain relievers increased the risk of committing homicide by 92%.

• Anti-inflammatory painkillers increased the risk of committing homicide by 200%.

We were right all along: These mind-altering medications turn some people into cold-blooded killers

For years, the New Media / Independent Media has been warning about the dangers of psychiatric drugs causing violence. The mainstream media, which now receives as much as 70% of its advertising revenue from drug companies, has all but censored this story, largely ignoring the mass deaths taking place right in our local communities.

Years ago in 2009, I wrote the rap song, "S.S.R.Lies" which exposed this link between psych meds and school violence. Since then, Natural News and other media sources have continued to cover the link between psychiatric drugs and violence, including this story: Prescription drugs are connected to school shootings and other violence, yet more drugs are touted as the solution.

(Also since 2009, I've published fourteen songs and music videos, each of them covering key issues of social justice, liberty and food freedom. Click here to hear the fan-favorite song "Be Divergent" or one of my personal favorites Revolution of the Heart.)

Is Big Pharma contributing to the wave of homicidal violence sweeping America?

America is presently experiencing a massive crime wave, with gangs running loose in the streets of cities like Baltimore and Chicago. The number of shootings that took place in Baltimore over just the Memorial Day weekend -- 32 -- is larger than the total number of shootings that take place in an entire year in many other countries.

In the month of May alone, there were 300 shootings in Chicago, with 35 deaths.

Here's the question of the day: How many people in Baltimore and Chicago are on antidepressant drugs? How many are taking anti-inflammatory painkillers? How many people who participated in the recent riots were operating with medicated brains? What role does medication play in the escalating violence now spiraling out of control across many of America's cities? (A medicated population is not a rational population... where will this lead next?)

Gun control advocates point to firearms as the cause of such violence, but the logic doesn't pan out. Guns don't shoot by themselves. (I tried it with a magic wand over and over, and I could never get my rifle to fire unless I deliberately pulled the trigger.)

Firearms require a person to make a decision in order to unleash a high-velocity bullet in the direction of an intended target. That decision-making process is precisely what's compromised by mind-altering medications. SSRIs can push some people over the edge, causing them to illegally use a firearm in a way its manufacturer never intended. In much the same way, someone can drink a lot of alcohol and use a vehicle to commit mass homicide, too. Both of these are chemically induced homicides using mechanical tools (cars or guns) which were never meant to kill innocent people.

What they both have in common is inhibited cognitive function caused by chemicals. "Medicated driving" is just as dangerous as "drunk driving..." and possibly even more so.

Pharma-funded media tries to downplay link between SSRIs and homicide.

The mainstream media is predictably trying to downplay the increased risk homicidal behavior among people medicated with antidepressants, claiming a 31% increased risk is only a "slight" risk. Of course, this is the same media that, if presented with a press release from the CDC claiming unvaccinated children had a 31% increased risk of contracting measles in Disneyland, would be screaming bloody murder and causing a nationwide infectious disease panic. "Thirty-one percent increased risk!! Get your damn kids vaccinated!"

Example of the total dismissal of the risk factors documented in the study: "When asked about the practical implications of these findings, Tiihonen said that people should not be worried about the risk of violence associated with antidepressant use," reports LiveScience.com, which also downplays any link between antidepressant drugs and violence.

Why, exactly, should we not be worried about medicated people committing mass murder? Maybe because that worry would call into question all the lies we've been told about drug safety by the FDA and Big Pharma.

Even if the increased risk seems small on an individual basis, you have tens of millions of Americans taking these drugs. A small risk multiplied by tens of millions of people results in the inevitability of a drug-induced homicide or mass murder... much like what we saw in Columbine, Colorado, and other school shootings. According to CDC statistics, almost 30 million Americans aged 12 and over are now taking antidepressant medications. That's 30 million would-be killers... ticking time bombs of violence if the drugs trigger homicidal violence in their brains.

There are almost a hundred million more people who take anti-inflammatory painkillers, too, according to this Consumer Reports document. On top of that, there are presently about 60 million prescriptions written each year for tranquilizer-class medications. Clearly, we're talking about more than one-third of Americans taking these risky medications that can cause homicidal behavior. That's not a small deal by any measure.

Furthermore, both the government and mainstream media have loudly raised the alarm on many other issues that pose a far smaller risk of public harm than psychiatric drugs. For example:

• There is virtually zero risk of being harmed or attacked by a terrorist anywhere in the United States. Yet the entire Patriot Act surveillance state / TSA / police state / militarized police infrastructure that has been put into place since 2001 was based on the heavily marketed fear that terrorists were hiding around every corner, waiting to kill us all. In truth, almost no one in America has even seen a terrorist, much less been killed by one.

• There is almost ZERO risk that a healthy, unvaccinated child exposed to measles will be killed by measles. Even in the heavily propagandized Disneyland outbreak, not a single child died. Some got the measles, built their own immune system antibodies, and recovered naturally.

• Almost no one dies from raw milk consumption in America, yet the FDA and state "food Nazi" thugs wage surveillance wars and arrest people like James Stewart at gunpoint (SWAT style) for distributing raw milk to health-conscious parents who desire the wholesome beverage.

Get off the mind-altering meds.

The most important take away message from all this is to get off the mind-altering meds. If you're taking psychiatric drugs or tranquilizers, you run the risk of "snapping" and turning into a homicidal maniac who kills other people. That's precisely what this study documented.

It also calls into question the escalating violence in a country that's the most medicated nation in the world: America. When you combine the scourge of mind-altering medications with the cognitive-harming effects of fluoride, glyphosate, pesticides and urban air pollution, is it any wonder things keep getting worse among the voters?

Sources for this article include:

Study: Tiihonen J, Lehti M, Aaltonen M, Kivivuori J, Kautiainen H, Virta L, Hoti F, Tanskanen A, Korhonen P. Psychotropic drugs and homicide: a prospective cohort study from Finland. World Psychiatry. 2015.
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Why does the national media refuse to cover stories like this about good cops?

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Police Officer Kerrie Orozco was the first female police officer killed in the line of duty in Omaha.

As a former news reporter for the Omaha World Herald and a former member of the staff for the Mayor of Omaha, there are some stories that are difficult to absorb, especially when they hit so close to home.

On May 22 of this year a 30 year old woman, baseball coach for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Omaha, wife, mother of three, and one who was dedicated to helping her community, was murdered.  She was also a 7 year veteran of the Omaha Police department.

Police Officer Kerrie Orozco was the first female police officer killed in the line of duty in Omaha. She is the 51st Police Officer killed in the line of duty in 2015.  There were 133 officers killed in 2014 and 119 in 2013.

I can remember 45 years ago this year when I was on the staff of Mayor Gene Leahy, and we had a police officer, Larry Minard, murdered by a suitcase bomb planted by the Black Panthers.  This came after years of racial unrest.  Minard, who left behind five children, was buried on the day of his 30th birthday.

Recently the police nationwide have had a lot of bad press as the media chooses to highlight the few bad cop incidents and ignore all the good cop stories.  My old newspaper has tried to focus on the positive when it came to Officer Orozco and I am publishing their coverage in order to honor her, and the work of the vast majority of police protecting our land.

Omaha World Herald
                            
A month ago, Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco was proud of the weight her premature daughter had gained.

“She’s pretty close to 6 lbs!” Orozco wrote on Facebook, underneath photos of her two stepchildren holding baby Olivia Ruth.

Current print subscribers

Orozco had been looking forward to today — the day when she could take Olivia home after three months in the neonatal intensive care unit.

But she didn’t make it.

Orozco, 29, was killed Wednesday, her last day of police duty before taking the rest of her maternity leave to spend with her first-born child.

Gunfire erupted when Orozco and other officers attempted to arrest Marcus D. Wheeler, on a felony warrant for first-degree assault about 1 p.m.

Orozco, who was part of the gang unit, is the first female police officer in the department to die in the line of duty. She is the 25th Omaha officer killed on duty overall and the first since 2003.

Wheeler, 26, also died of injuries from the shooting near 30th Street and Martin Avenue. Wheeler was a convicted felon and a known gang member, police said.

Police are planning a 4:30 p.m. Wednesday press conference to provide more information on the shootings.

In a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said Orozco, who was a seven-​year-veteran, dedicated her life to service.

“This is a somber day for the city of Omaha,” Schmaderer said. “Officer Orozco was a top-notch individual, and the city of Omaha owes her a debt of gratitude, and her family, like no other.”

Schmaderer laid out a basic timeline of events:

At 12:58 p.m., Orozco and other members of the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force were near Martin Avenue and Read Street, looking for Wheeler, when they spotted him about a block away, near 31st Avenue and Vane Street.

Wheeler shot at officers, then ran north through a wooded area toward the backyard of a house at 3057 Martin Ave.

Orozco, another officer and a sergeant confronted Wheeler, and shots were exchanged.

Orozco collapsed.

While officers rendered first aid to Orozco, Wheeler ran east and collapsed in the backyard at 3042 Read St. A semiautomatic handgun with a drum magazine was found near him.

A man living at the Read Street house said he saw Wheeler lean against a downspout and fall to the ground. He said Wheeler was pointing at his chest, where he had been shot.

Officers performed CPR on Orozco and Wheeler, Schmaderer said.

"It was really sad," Valentine said, "really heart-wrenching, watching the officer."

Both Orozco and Wheeler were taken by ambulance to Creighton University Medical Center in extremely critical condition. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Angela Valentine, who lives just east of 3057 Martin Ave., was taking a nap Wednesday afternoon when her son walked in and said, "I think I heard shooting." Valentine then heard what she thought were police outside the house say, "Get down! Get down on the ground!" The officers were yelling toward the back of the neighbor's house.

Valentine then heard two shots, then many shots.

She looked outside and saw a female police officer on the ground near the corner of her house. "There was blood on her pants and the upper part of her body," Valentine said. Other officers were trying to keep the officer calm, she said, and were "going into CPR mode."

Following the news of Orozco’s death, condolences began pouring into social media from across the nation. Hundreds of people, including law enforcement officers and police departments, posted comments, many containing the hashtag #SupportBlue.

Crime scene tape remained around 3057 Martin Ave. on Thursday morning. The Omaha Police Department's mobile command center was parked directly in front of the house, and the crime lab van also was parked in front of the command center. Eastbound Martin Avenue was blocked from Vane Street to Read Street.

After looking at a photo of Wheeler on Thursday, a neighbor said, "I've absolutely seen him hanging around, kicking it in the driveway. I've seen him coming and going, but not causing any trouble. Of course, if you're laying low, you wouldn't want to cause any trouble."

He said he recently started seeing people coming and going, mostly at night.

Orozco was the second female law enforcement officer in the state to be killed in the line of duty, according to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Memorial. Amanda Baker, a Scotts Bluff County corrections officer, was strangled in February 2014 by a 15-year-old inmate at the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center.

Schmaderer said he had spoken with Orozco’s family. At the press conference he also offered condolences to Wheeler’s family.

Mayor Jean Stothert, who was out of town for her son’s wedding, said in a statement:

“Officer Orozco will be honored by the entire community for her service and bravery through our prayer and our continued community support for all police officers.”

Stothert ordered flags in the city to be lowered to half staff in Orozco’s honor until dusk on Monday. In addition, the lights on the Heartland of America Fountain and the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge will be blue through Memorial Day.

After the shooting, more than 20 bystanders gathered at the crime scene, which spanned 30th to 33rd Streets and from Read to Whitmore Streets.

Outside 3057 Martin Ave., where gunfire had been exchanged, police were talking to Erica Coppage-Williams. She had recently moved into the house, said her father, Anthony Williams.

Coppage-Williams, 24, appeared distraught as she sat in her front yard. She let out tearful screams and called out to her father while talking to police.

Wheeler and Coppage-Williams had a child in 2009, court records show.

Coppage-Williams was booked by Omaha police Wednesday night on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer, aiding consummation of a felony and disorderly conduct.

Authorities had been searching for Wheeler in connection with the Sept. 5 shooting of Antonio Martin near 60th Street and Curtis Avenue. Wheeler was released from federal prison in February 2014 after being convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Schmaderer called Wheeler “a very dangerous individual” and said the community needs brave individuals to apprehend such serious criminals. Orozco and the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force officers go after “the worst of the worst,” he said.

Orozco returned to work shortly after giving birth to Olivia on Feb. 17. With Olivia facing an extended stay in the NICU at the Nebraska Medical Center, Orozco wanted to save her maternity leave for when Olivia left the hospital.

Before she had her own child, Orozco served as a mother and a mentor to other children, coaching baseball and volunteering with numerous community organizations.

She was a stepmother to Natalia, 8, and Santiago, 6, children of her husband, Hector Orozco Lopez. They were married in a civil ceremony in 2011, then had a church wedding in 2012.

The Police Department was collecting food donations for Orozco’s family. By 10 p.m., so much food had been dropped off at precinct stations that the department was suggesting that any additional donations be taken to homeless shelters in memory of the officer.

The Omaha Police Foundation announced Wednesday night that it would give all of its Omaha Gives donations to the Orozco family.

The donation total has topped $75,000, from more than 1,800 donors, the most of any nonprofit in the campaign.

Asked at the press conference whether the shooting would damage police-community relations, Schmaderer rejected the idea. Officers are also a part of the community, he pointed out.

“I think you’ll see the city of Omaha band together ... and certainly support Officer Orozco for her sacrifice,” he said.

“I think Omaha is a tremendous community. I’ve said all along that north Omaha (is a) tremendous community,” he said. “And we’re going to work through this issue with the community side by side.”

Many details about the shooting haven’t been released. A press conference may be held later today, officials said.

“My greatest concern is with my officers and their families and the integrity of this investigation,” Schmaderer said.

By Wednesday night, flowers, candles and other tokens were being left as makeshift memorials at the crime scene and outside Omaha Police Headquarters.

The chief had a message for his officers, who were struggling with the loss of their well-liked colleague.

“Keep your head held high, we’ll do our job professionally, and we’re going to grieve,” Schmaderer said. “We’ll grieve like anybody else.”

World-Herald staff writers Kevin Cole, Christopher Burbach, Bob Glissmann and Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.

Here is an update from an Omaha TV station. 

OMAHA, Nebraska (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Thousands of community members lined the streets of Omaha, Nebraska Tuesday to pay tribute to a fallen officer.

Hundreds of officers took Kerrie Orozco to her final resting place in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Officer Orozco was killed in a shoot-out earlier this month while trying to arrest a known gang member.

The shift she was working was supposed to be her last before going on maternity leave to take care of her daughter Olivia, who was born prematurely in February.

And Speaking of little Olivia, she's already living out her mother's legacy. On Sunday she was in a onesie that read "Keep Calm and Kerrie On."

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