Questions in dog's death

Nearly two months after suburban police served a search warrant at his home and shot his dog, an Omaha father is enduring the indignity of learning more about why they came.

Police had told him in October his son was up to no good. Now, his son, 20, faces burglary charges in Sarpy and Lancaster Counties, and Cisco — the family's two-year-old, 73-pound pit bull and yellow lab mix — is dead.

The man's son, Dane Nodskov, appeared in Sarpy County Court this week to answer burglary charges and pleaded not guilty. He is accused of burglarizing the 370 Bar & Grill and Kay Jewelers in Papillion in late September and also of committing criminal mischief at both businesses.

While the burglary cases progress, the Nodskovs are weighing whether to file a federal lawsuit over Cisco's death. A family attorney, Robert Broom of Omaha, declined to discuss the potential suit but said at least one issue could be the loss of property without due process of law.

“I'm a law-abiding citizen,” Scott Nodskov said. “I just can't believe there isn't a way they could have handled it differently.”

In October, Papillion police served a search warrant on the father's north Omaha house, investigating his adult son. One of the officers shot Cisco.

Papillion Police Chief Leonard Houloose has said the shooting was justified for officer safety, but neighbors wondered aloud whether police could've accepted their help to avoid gunning down a dog they described as friendly. Their ire also was stoked by a police-disputed high-five celebration they witnessed after the shooting.

Nearly two months later, Nodskov's landlord says she understands better why police shot Cisco. She had previously questioned why officers did not let her remove the dog. She also better understands the threats to officer safety.

For his part, the Papillion chief says his department is considering additional methods to help officers gain control of animals without shooting them. In Omaha, officers often use catch poles and work closely with the Nebraska Humane Society.

Houloose said his department began an internal investigation of the incident after an animal rights group complained. In early November, police spoke with Diana Curry, Scott's landlord. They asked what she had seen, Curry said.

She said she'd offered the officers a key and offered to let them in. They declined, and used a battering ram to bash in the door. An officer shot Cisco on the way in; then the officers high-fived each other and laughed, she said, an allegation the chief denies.

At least one of the officers who followed up told her that such behavior was inappropriate, Curry said. He then explained that officers have a certain amount of time once they announce themselves. They can't just stand in the yard and be targets.

“They said they would take out any hindrance to their investigation no matter what,” Curry said. “I said, ‘Even though the dog was not threatening them?' They said, ‘Well, the officer said he was.'”

And of the alleged celebration, Houloose said, “I can tell you that no Papillion police officer did any high-fiving. There were several agencies involved in ... this search warrant, and I don't have the purview to investigate officers from other agencies.”

Curry said she wishes the warrant could have been served differently. She said officers entered the Nodskov residents like soldiers at war. When she mentioned that to the officers who followed up, one told her they do handle search warrants like military operations. That troubled Curry.

“This is the United States,” she said. “You have the right to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And if they enter it like it's a war maneuver, then they are entering with the mind set (a person is) already guilty.”

Dane Nodskov, reached by phone, referred questions about the warrant and his arrest to his attorney, Sarah Mooney of Omaha. She declined to comment.

In the months after the shooting, Scott Nodskov has tried to move on. He bought a new puppy, a pit bull named Scooter. He didn't want another pit/yellow lab mix, another Cisco.

“It's just too hard, you know?”

Contact the writer:

444-3106, andrew.nelson@owh.com