Dyea L. Rowland, an
Omaha cop has been ordered to answer prosecutors' questions about the arrest of
three brothers that was captured on video and posted online, leading to
criminal charges against a fellow police officer.
Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon on Friday ordered
Officer Dyea L. Rowland to cooperate with prosecutors in the evidence-tampering
case against fired Officer James Kinsella, Prosecutors sought the order, saying
Rowland likely would refuse to testify based on her right against
self-incrimination.
The case stems from the March 21 arrest of three brothers,
including 28-year-old Octavius Johnson, who was grabbed from behind, thrown to
the ground and punched several times by fired Omaha officer Bradley Canterbury.
Officers can also be seen chasing Juaquez Johnson, who had been recording video
of his brother's arrest, into the brothers' home. Police were unaware at the
time that a neighbor was also recording the arrest.
Prosecutors have accused Kinsella of illegally confiscating
Juaquez Johnson's cellphone memory card and throwing it away. Octavius, Juaquez
and a third brother, Demetrius Johnson, were all arrested in the incident,
which began when officers responded to a parking complaint in the brothers'
neighborhood. Only Demetrius was later charged, but those charges were dropped
last month.
Kinsella and three other officers were fired for their role
in the arrests following an internal investigation.
Kinsella's boss, former Sgt. Aaron Von Behren, is the only
other former officer criminally charged in the case. Von Behren faces
misdemeanor obstruction and accessory to a felony counts for allegedly
conspiring to orchestrate officers' stories in the wake of the arrests.