Omaha Police Foundation, officials honor officers of the year

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The Omaha Police Foundation honored 28 Omaha Police officers and OPD staff for their stand-out community service in the past year during an awards banquet on Thursday.

Cory Buckley and William Klug were named Officers of the Year. Their cruiser took gunfire as they pursued convenience store robbery suspects.

“We don’t do it for the awards,” Buckley said. “At the end of the day, you try to protect somebody. You never really know the difference you’re going to make.”

The foundation also honored Omaha 360 with a community partnership award for its work with the police department, working towards less violent crime -- with the stats to prove it.

Omaha is seeing 40-year lows when it comes to gun violence.

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Omaha Police Department touts high clearance rate for homicides

The Omaha Police Department says it ended 2022 with a high proportion of homicide cases in the city being solved, saying the city has seen a homicide clearance rate above the national average for 10 straight years.

“The collaborative approach shows what is possible when all sectors of the community work together. Hundreds of organizations and thousands of residents including youth and adults have taken part in the community-based strategy over the years,” the Omaha 360 website states.

The initiative has received national attention in recent weeks with talk of helping other communities follow a similar model to reduce crime.

“A lot of cities are coming here and asking how to replicate that,” said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer. He just returned from Chicago, where the Obama Foundation also recognized Omaha’s good work.

The foundation also awarded the Empowerment Network with an $800,000 grant so it can continue to implement the gun violence reduction programs to help unlock best practices and resources so other communities can use what Omaha has done.

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