[New York Post] A Nebraska bar owner who shot and killed a George Floyd protester will not be charged because he acted in self-defense, authorities said Monday.Prosecutors said Jake Gardner, the owner of The Hive bar in Omaha, ended up on his back during a confrontation with a group of protesters Saturday when he fired and struck 22-year-old James Scurlock, the Omaha World-Herald reported Monday.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Scurlock initially jumped on Gardner’s back and began choking him after the bar owner fired off two warning shots.
"Mr. Gardner, as we know now, has said I did what I did to defend myself and we find that we can’t disprove that from the evidence that we have," Kleine told KMTV News.
He said witnesses and video from the scene confirm that Gardner, who is white, was backing up at the time and that no racial slurs were used during the confrontation with Scurlock, who was black.
Gardner, who has a legal gun permit, was seen on video outside the bar Saturday night apparently urging the crowd of protesters to move along.
Words are exchanged and Gardner ends up on his back in the middle of the street when the shots are fired, including the one that hit Scurlock in the neck and killed him.
James Scurlock Sr., the dead man’s father, said he wants an investigation into his son’s death.
"Once again I ask that we investigate this and I ask my people to stand by me strong but do it peacefully," he told KMTV.