As we have reported extensively Omaha police insist the recent shooting death of a Black man, 35-year-old Kenneth Jones, at the hands of a White officer was justified.

At the same time while police have released a handful of still shots of the traffic stop, police videos won’t be released until a grand jury investigation, which is required by law, is completed.

And as News Channel Nebraska first reported due to courthouse delays from COVID-19 it will likely be months, prosecutors say no earlier than March, before the grand jury meets and finishes its investigation, at which time the police videos would apparently be made available for the public to see.

But grand juries aren’t the only things that get in the way of police videos—controversial videos—being made public, time and again police closely guard that inside look at their work.

And you need look no further than Omaha’s summer time protests, which according to Omaha police left a huge video footprint behind.

According to police, the protests resulted in 120 “use of force” incidents deemed within Omaha Police Department policy and three times deemed not to be within OPD policy; in effect three times when police were out of line.

A public records request by News Channel Nebraska, asking for copies of body camera video of those 123 incidents was denied. According to O-P-D, “Body worn camera footage contain investigative information and police tactics...and by law “are not considered public record.”

That type of response frustrating to the ACLU which is now looking to change the law. Danielle Conrad tells NCN the civil liberties group is working with some lawmakers in Lincoln to in effect open the state’s open records law even wider.

{See our full video report with comments from Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and ACLU Executive Director Danielle Conrad above]