Bar Owner Commits Suicide After Fatally Shooting Rioter; Family Sues Prosecutor Who Painted Him Racist
The family of U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Omaha bar owner Jake Gardner have filed a lawsuit against a special prosecutor who branded their son racist before Gardner killed himself.
Gardner fatally shot an anti-police rioter, 22-year-old James Scurlock, during a struggle outside of his bar last May. Gardner was white and Scurlock was white.
At first, Gardner was cleared of all charges after it was determined that he acted in self-defense. However, due to the racially charged political atmosphere, the DA appointed special prosecutor Fred Franklin and a grand jury to “restore public faith in the justice system,” NPR reported.
Franklin initially thought that Gardner acted in self-defense. However, he flip-flopped and sided with the grand jury and announced in September that Gardner was indicted on charges of manslaughter, attempted 1st-degree assault, terroristic threats, and felonious use of a firearm.
One week after the apparent politically motivated ruling, Gardner committed suicide.
Gardner’s parents, David, and Glenda Sue Gardner, claim Franklin and Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine violated their son’s 6th and 14th Amendment rights.
The Omaha World-Herald reported on the allegations outlined in the lawsuit:
The suit alleges Franklin conspired with Kleine and two retired Omaha police detectives who were on Franklin’s team to make false and misleading statements to the news media. Franklin’s statements, the suit says, “included implications that Mr. Gardner was a racist” and “also falsely stated that it was Mr. Gardner’s own words that showed his intent to kill.”
The statements, which the lawsuit contends impacted Gardner’s right to a fair trial, “caused Mr. Gardner to lose all faith in the justice system and become paranoid and afraid for his life,” the lawsuit states. “As a result of this extreme emotional distress, Mr. Gardner committed suicide on Sept. 20, 2020.”
The Gardner family attorneys revealed that the fallen veteran suffered from various mental ailments due to his military services. His suicide stemmed from “a cocktail of behavioral health problems stemming from head trauma he experienced during military service, the belief that people were out to kill him, and an ‘incessant rush to judgment’ by social media jockeys.”
The attorneys also disclosed that Gardner was receiving “death threats.” All of the compounding pressure resulted in his tragic end.
“Bottom line, Dornan and Monaghan said, Gardner had lost his bars (a landlord ended his lease after the shooting), his home, his livelihood,” the Omaha World-Herald said. “And he was about to lose his freedom. Add in behavioral health concerns, Dornan said, and suicide was not a surprise, even though his attorneys fully expected him to turn himself in Sunday night.”
“I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Gardner before his return, and he was really shook up,” Dornan said. “The grand jury indictment was a shock to him, it was a shock to us, it was a shock to many people.”
According to the AFSP, white males accounted for 69.38% of all suicide deaths in 2019.
Gardner’s cousins spoke about Jake anonymously to KETV Omaha, sharing their anger and sorrow caused by the situation.
“You can look into [Gardner’s] eyes in that video and you can see that fear. I look at that video and I see his eyes and I cry. To see the fear that that man was looking at. I know, Jake, I looked in those eyes thousands of times. He was terrified. We would like to grieve in peace with all the hate. But we can’t because everybody’s still happy that he’s gone.”
_______________________________________________
Download ‘The Scoop TV’ video streaming app, the Conservative Alternative to Netflix!
- If you have an iPhone, click here to download the iPhone app from the Apple App Store.
- Or if you have an Android phone, click here to download the Android app from the Google Play Store
