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Police cars and sheriff's office cruisers line G Street on Wednesday afternoon after a report that a man shot at a Nebraska State Patrol trooper during a traffic stop.
City, county and state law enforcement and Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews responded to 19th and G streets Wednesday afternoon. The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office is investigating an officer-involved shooting.
A grand jury has reviewed the fatal shooting of a Columbus man by a Nebraska State Patrol trooper in Lincoln and cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.
According to a recently filed transcript of a closed hearing earlier this summer, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Dan Zieg told jurors the sole question was whether Trooper Adam Strode's decision to use deadly force against German Pedraza was justified under the law.
A grand jury found officers' actions were justified in shooting a Columbus man who displayed a gun during a traffic stop in November 2021.
On Nov. 24, Strode and Lincoln Police Investigator Andrew Barksdale, both members of the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force, had been driving through the area of 19th and G streets on the way to check out a Crime Stoppers call.
Nothing came of the Crime Stoppers tip. But on the way to it, Barksdale said he noticed a distinctive car, a white Chrysler 300 with a black driver's side quarter panel and 25-county plates, that they'd recently seen in a hotel parking lot known for drug dealing. He pointed it out to Strode.
While they were leaving the Crime Stoppers tip, they drove back past the apartment complex at 1905 G St.
There's no video of what happened next. Task force investigators don't wear body cameras.
Barksdale said he saw a man he didn't know, later identified as Pedraza, walk to the Chrysler with a woman and get in. Pedraza made a U-turn and turned into the apartment parking lot without signaling.
So the two officers, in plain clothes and in an unmarked pickup, pulled up behind the car, blocking them in, to talk to them about the traffic violation, Barksdale said.
He said when he and Strode got out with their badges on lanyards around their necks, Pedraza, who was getting out of the car, looked right at them.
"And he had like a very wide-eyed, shocked look to see that we were there," the LPD officer said.
He thought Pedraza was going to take off running, but instead he got right back in the car.
Barksdale can't remember if he said the word "police" but they were calling out directions and the two inside could see their badges. He said he went to the passenger door and pulled the woman, Cassie Navrkal, out.
But Pedraza stayed put, his left hand on the steering wheel or next to it.
Barksdale thought Pedraza was going to ram their truck to try to get away, which could be especially dangerous with both officers just outside the car's open doors.
So he reached in to the push-button ignition to try to turn off the car.
"Simultaneously, or maybe even as I was going inside the vehicle, I noted Mr. Pedraza was going for his right front pants pocket," the officer told the grand jury.
Barksdale said he saw a baggie that looked like meth fall out of Pedraza's pocket.
He said he struggled with Pedraza, trying to get him out, but Pedraza kept tugging on something. He thought he was going for a weapon, so he started striking him, yelling for him to get out of the car and to Strode that he was going for something in his pocket.
"At some point, his hand comes from his front right pants pocket up toward his waist," Barksdale said.
Pedraza hunched over the steering wheel and started turning toward the driver's door.
Barksdale went to get out of the passenger side. That's when he heard Strode yell, "Gun."
"And then I heard a single gunshot," he said.
Barksdale didn't know right away who fired. When he came around the car, Pedraza was lying on the ground, with a single gunshot wound to his neck, a silver pistol on the ground next to him.
He wasn't moving. Navrkal was screaming.
Barksdale cuffed her and called dispatch for an ambulance, running to the front of the building to see the address.
Strode, who had been on the driver's side, told the jurors he had opened the driver's door with the intent of removing Pedraza from the car and detaining him.
First, he had tried to break his grasp from the steering wheel. That's when he started digging in his pocket.
It turned into a struggle between Pedraza and the two officers that Strode said felt like quite some time but in reality lasted just seconds.
Their strikes weren't working, he said. So he tried to pull him out by his left arm.
When Pedraza brought his arm forward and leaned down, "It was at that moment ... I saw him with the gun in his hand," Strode said.
"I honestly thought I was going to be shot," the trooper said.
Strode yelled "Gun" and drew his handgun, placed the muzzle into Pedraza's back or upper neck area and kept yelling for him to stop and show him his hands.
"And did he ever stop or show you his hands?" Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon asked him.
It was too close quarters to use a Taser or pepper spray, even if they had them, both officers said.
When Pedraza planted his left foot out of the car, Strode said he got a clear view of the serrations on the side of the gun's slide and the black grip above his thumb.
He said his mind raced: What if it's a fake; what if it's unloaded?
"He was beginning to stand up and lean out of the vehicle. At that time, I decided to fire a round. And I squeezed the trigger and fired one round," Strode said. "He immediately dropped to the ground."
He said Pedraza still was grasping the gun in his right hand, so he leaned down and used two fingers to take it out of his hand.
It was loaded with two bullets.
Pedraza died in the hospital four days later.
Condon asked Strode if there was a reason he didn't try to fire into his leg or his arm to disable him.
"Yes, because we're trained to shoot center mass into vital organs to neutralize the threat," he said.
Plus, he said, he had to worry about the possibility of crossfire hitting Barksdale.
In the investigation that followed, Lancaster County Sheriff's investigators learned there was a warrant out for Pedraza's arrest for missing court for a high-speed chase Oct. 17 in Butler County that turned up more than a half pound of methamphetamine and two stolen guns.
He was facing seven felony drug and gun charges for it that would surely send him to prison if he ended up convicted.
Pedraza had just gotten out of prison in June 2020, after serving a 10- to 14-year sentence on burglary, theft and gun charges. And Navrkal said he'd told her he wasn't going back.
She wasn't called to testify before the grand jury, but she told an investigator she thought he was going for his gun when he reached in his pocket.
In separate reviews, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, Lincoln Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol all concluded the officers' actions and the use of deadly force that day were justified.
In the end, so, too, did the grand jury.
Teri King (left) and Tom Dorshorst dance during The Zoo Bar's ZooFest music festival July 8.
Dominic Silva (left) lifts up Dertha Williams with help as he pushes her on a tire swing during Lincoln's annual Uncle Sam Jam at Oak Lake Park on Sunday.
Women display signs to passing cars during an abortion rights rally held in front of the Nebraska State Capitol on Monday.
Nebraska state Sen. Julie Slama hugs a campaign volunteer after a press conference hosted by Citizens for Voter ID at the Capitol on Thursday. Citizens for Voter ID submitted petitions to the secretary of state to add a voter ID requirement to the state constitution.
Skaters perform during the USA Roller Sports Roller Figure Skating Indoor National Championships on Saturday at Speedway Sports Complex.
Carpet Land's Owen Laessig's hat flies off his head as he throws to first base to retire a JC Brager batter on June 29, 2022, at Den Hartog Field.
Cathy Smith (from left), Rick Boucher and Shelly Horton ride horses in Pioneers Park on Monday. The city has approved restoring 1.9 miles of horse trails in the park.
Charity Reeves is shown Friday in her kitchen in Nebraska City. Reeves said her brain fog persists after recovering from the initial symptoms of COVID-19, and she has to rely on note cards to remind her of daily tasks such as turning off the stove.
Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Ravi Singh demonstrates a drone during a news conference on Thursday at Nebraska State Patrol headquarters.
Konni Anderson (left) talks with Becca Monroe of West Mill Flowers Friday.
Customers carry out fireworks from Black Dragon Fireworks in Hickman on Friday.
Ashley Peterson, a special-education teacher at Lincoln Northwest who suffers from prosopagnosia, also known as facial blindness, was recently featured in a National Geographic story talking about the condition.
Dana Davenport, Josie Kinsinger and Dee Bronson (from left) set up a phone so they can film a reel for Instagram at Aria Rose Bath Co. on Thursday.
Andie Trimble (left) and Nicole Polivka wear paint-stained dresses while protesting the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade during an abortion rights rally held in front of the Nebraska State Capitol on Monday.
LINCOLN, NEB. - 07/06/2022 - Buster the dog looks on as supporters of medical marijuana sign petitions, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
LINCOLN, NEB. - 07/10/2022 - Protesters march around Lincoln Station during a rally in support of union rail workers, Sunday, July 10, 2022. Union rail workers in Nebraska are negotiating a new contract under the Railway Labor Act, after the previous contract expired in 2019. NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Lincoln's catcher Skyler Weber reacts after scoring a run against Kansas City during Saturday's game at Haymarket Park.
Ozzie Pederson gives her Warmblood horse, named Smokey, a bath in preparation for the Lancaster County Super Fair, which starts Thursday.
Lincoln High's Beni Ngoyi (center) and others, including Adonis Hutchinson (first from right), gather for a photo after Ngoyi announced his commitment to Iowa State on Wednesday at Lincoln High School.
Adam Helmerichs, owner of Diamond Concrete Cutting, organizes tiles removed from the Pershing Center mural Wednesday.
A young Husker fan takes a photo of Memorial Stadium during Nebraska Football Fan Day on Tuesday.
Carpet Land celebrates after defeating Pinnacle Bank in the A-5 American Legion tournament championship Tuesday at Den Hartog Field.
Union Bank's Thomas Neal is shown during an American Legion Area 5 tournament game against Carpet Land on Sunday, July 17, at Den Hartog Field.
Racers run out of the starting line during the Husker Road Race Sunday at Memorial Stadium.
A 1962 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible is auctioned off during the Remlinger Collector Car Auction at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Ashley Peterson (right) adjusts the mortar board cap for her son, Bryce Peterson, during a graduation ceremony from Future Husker University at Memorial stadium on Friday.
An attendee looks at tractors during the Camp Creek Threshers show Saturday near Waverly.
Former Papillion-La Vista softball player Jordy Bahl, who now plays at Oklahoma, lights the torch during the Cornhusker State Games' Opening Ceremonies on Friday at Seacrest Field.
A dragonfly lands on a lotus, Monday at Sunken Gardens, where temperatures topped out in the low 90s.
Platte county attorney Jose Rodriguez stands outside of the Platte County Courthouse.
Sampson Construction third baseman Noah Thiele leaps over Pinnacle Bank's Max Olivas during an A-5 district Legion game Thursday at Den Hartog Field.
Dallas McGee, who is retiring at the end of the month from the city's Urban Development Department, poses for a photo at Bill Harris Iron Horse Park in downtown Lincoln. In the early days of the Haymarket redevelopment, renovating Lincoln Station and creating Iron Horse Park was considered a turning point for development in the area, McGee said. “All of a sudden, people were saying ‘we need to take you down and show you Iron Horse Park'” when visitors came to town.
As temperatures in Lincoln soared toward the upper 90s on Tuesday, families took advantage of the spray ground at Trago Park. Temperatures are expected to stay in the 90s for the next week and possibly top 100 on Friday and Saturday.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
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Lori Pilger is a Norfolk native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate who has been a public safety reporter for the Journal Star since 2005.
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