Omaha Fire says they did all they could to save shooting victim amid criticism

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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The Omaha Fire Department said it had done everything to save a 19-year-old woman who was killed in a July 4 shooting.

They respond to criticism from a private security business owner. The Omaha Fire Department said the scene was so chaotic that it took paramedics six minutes after that initial 911 call to get to 24 and the lake where the shooting took place.

As shots were fired into the crowd, dozens of people ran to safety.

There were hundreds of people running around the scene when the paramedics arrived. They were actually delayed at the scene due to many people fleeing in vehicles and running across the street, battalion commander Scott Fitzpatrick said.

Treshawn Abram runs a private security firm, he was working crowd control at a bar when the shots were fired and questioning OFD response time.

What I found troubling was that the Omaha fire and rescue services decided to wait to help us with CPR, Abram said.

Bodycam footage transmitted to us that is too graphic to share shows police arriving at the scene within 90 seconds.

An Omaha policeman almost immediately begins CPR on 19-year-old Jazsmine Washington. At the same time, other officers have been working to secure the premises so paramedics can enter, which is protocol.

Site safety is the number one priority for our paramedics and firefighters on site. We are waiting for the scene to be secured for the shooting, Fitzpatrick said.

Omaha fire officials said the scene was secured by police as they were on their way. They arrived in Washington and immediately began to help, taking over from the police who were already doing CPR.

At one point during the body camera footage, you hear an on-scene security guard telling an EMT that the victim’s arm was broken and she needed a neck brace.

Then you hear this: Wait, let’s get it right. We are in front of the camera.

Nothing changes when we are in front of the camera and when we are not in front of the camera. We do the same rescue techniques that we always do. That particular case of speaking with one of the captains that was there was more of a rally yourself, make sure we do whatever we need to do, Fitzpatrick said.

Officials say paramedics left for hospital 10 minutes after arriving at the scene. They say the delay is typical for a critical patient.

Any scene duration less than 10 minutes is what we are looking for. The faster the better. But some are more chaotic than others.

OFD says they often work in partnership with the Omaha Police Department to make sure things are safe and patients receive the intensive care they need. The Omaha Fire Department also said that at this scene, the initial call resulted in many casualties.

These additional victims were not found at the scene and later arrived at the hospital in private cars.

Omaha Police released this statement to 6 News:

Each scene is different and the response may vary depending on the specific circumstances of the incident. Officers must discern between the information provided to them via 911 and their observations upon arrival at the scene of how they will react. Safety is of the utmost importance to the citizens and the officers on the scene. Once the scene is deemed safe by response officers, officers will attempt to provide medical assistance to any injured person until medical assistance arrives. Filming scenes are often secured by the police first, and then paramedics are allowed to enter the scene to provide medical assistance. Again, how it all plays out often depends on the circumstances of the moment and the discretion of the agents.

The response officer seen in the video providing rescue measures called an ambulance and began CPR within 21 seconds of arriving at the scene. All OPD officers are CPR certified.

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