Omaha Cop Resigns a Month After Killing Unarmed Robber

The Omaha Police Department says the officer involved in a fatal shooting at 13th and Hickory streets last month has resigned.

Officer Alvin Lugod, 31, was cleared of wrongdoing after a grand jury investigation into the Feb. 23 shooting death of Danny Elrod, 39. But at the conclusion of the internal affairs investigation, police said, Chief Todd Schmaderer accepted Lugod’s resignation.

According to police, Elrod had just robbed the Family Dollar at 13th and Hickory streets. Officers sent to the scene found Elrod less than a block away.

Schmaderer said officers reported that Elrod shouted that he had a gun as he held one hand at his waistband and reached into his waistband at least three times.

Elrod climbed to the roof of a nearby vehicle, and officers deployed a Taser when he appeared to reach into his waistband. One probe hit Elrod, but it was ineffective, police said.

Elrod reached up to a fence with both hands and appeared to attempt to leap over the fence, according to police. That’s when Lugod fired three shots at Elrod.

According to Schmaderer, Lugod said he feared Elrod was going to jump to the ground, pull a gun and shoot a fellow officer.

No weapons were found on Elrod or at the scene.

“I expected there was probably going to be some severe disciplinary action or perhaps a resignation,” attorney James Martin Davis said. “You know, it’s the second deadly shooting in 30 months for this officer.”