Paul E. Smidt Jr.

How they died

Suicide

Police Chief Rick Thompson got a tip that Jesse Britton, who was suspected in several recent burglaries, was inside the abandoned Frontier Bar. Nebraska Game and Parks Division officer Dan Kling agreed to help search the building and officers Matt Moore and Paul Kimminau set up a perimeter. At around 10 a.m., Thompson and Kling confronted Jesse inside the bar, where he allegedly pointed a gun at them, promping them to open fire. Both officers' shots struck Jesse, who died at the scene. A grand jury indicted Thompson for second-degree assault in Britton's death. In June 2009, a judge acquitted Thompson. Thompson was suspended with pay after the shooting, then without pay a month later. He fought the city for disciplining him without a hearing and reached a settlement. As part of that agreement, Thompson had to resign.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Paul E. Smidt Jr., and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources