Nebraska

Inspector General’s Office investigates in-custody suicides with Nebraska Department of Correctional Services

Published

1 year ago

August 23, 2024

Inspector General’s Office investigates in-custody suicides with Nebraska Department of Correctional Services

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – An inspector general is recommending changes in the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services after reviewing three in-custody suicides.

A report released Tuesday details successes and failures made by staff and infrastructure within NDCS in the wake of three suicides between 2021 and 2023. The inmates died by hanging in each incident, but all under different circumstances.

Inspector General Doug Koebernick said in his report that NDCS has spent time looking into suicides in its facilities. A suicide work group had been established in 2018, led by the department’s medical director.

The group made multiple recommendations for the department which include:

Distributing suicide awareness pamphlets to inmates, friends and family
Adjusting the staff training manual
Streaming a suicide prevention video in all NDCS facilities
Using an additional screening tool during transfers and intakes
Advertising a phone number that friends and family can call should an inmate make alarming comments

During his investigation, Koebernick found that NDCS only implemented the phone number to report suicidal comments made by inmates. However, the number did not work, and NDCS eventually phased the program out.

A review of three suicides then revealed a handful of policy and infrastructure failures within NDCS that resulted in incomplete investigations. He found that internal critical incident reviews, mandated reports outlining specific details in suicides, were not be sufficiently completed.

Similarly, a mental health team member is required to complete a psychological autopsy following a suicide. Koebernick requested the psychological autopsies in each case, but NDCS did not provide him with any.

Individual A:

The first inmate, identified as Individual A, a 45-year-old man, died by suicide at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution in 2022. He was serving a life sentence after murdering his cellmate and had been incarcerated for a variety of charges beginning in 2006.

In August, correctional staff found the inmate lying with his left arm hanging off his bed. He had cut himself, and a pool of blood was gathering on the floor. Staff brought him to the medical unit and gave him stitches.

He told staff that he was not suicidal, but a suicide note that had been tossed in the trash was later found in his room. The inmate was put under “Plan A,” otherwise known as suicide watch, and was given a security blanket, paper clothes and extra supervision.

A few days later, behavioral health staff downgraded his plan before returning him to his regular unit. The inmate had denied any suicidal intent when spoken to by staff.

Staff then found the inmate unresponsive in his cell just 16 days after he cut his wrists with a razor blade, Koebernick wrote. He wrapped a bedsheet around his neck and tied it to the top bunk of his bed. Staff attempted life-saving measures, but the inmate was pronounced dead.

Koebernick reviewed phone call the inmate made in the days before his death, and he discovered that the man had spoken to his mother on several occasions. Five days before his death, the inmate told his mother about his self-harm and indicated that he wanted to die.

The inspector general then interviewed inmates familiar with the man and learned that he may have been abusing K2 and possibly owed another inmate money for the drug. He noted that the review of phone calls and the interviews were not completed in the ICIR.

Individual B:

In June of 2023, another 45-year-old inmate took his life in a similar manner to Individual A. He had been incarcerated since May of 2023, and his release was expected by the next year.

An emergency response team was activated after the inmate was found unresponsive in his cell one night. He was found face-down with a sheet tied around his neck that had been attached to a locker. Staff performed life-saving measures, but a paramedic with Lincoln Fire and Rescue ultimately pronounced him dead.

Further investigation revealed that not all cameras in the area were operational at the time, eliminating any view of staff outside the cell. Intelligence staff noted the issue a day after the death, Koebernick wrote.

Koebernick discovered that the cameras were not working due to a software update. The cameras should have been working at the time, however, but nobody bothered to check if they were actually functioning.

Prior to the death, Koebernick check the inmate’s call records and discovered he’d made 99 outgoing calls on the day of his death. He learned that the inmate would regularly call a woman and get into an argument. Only two of the calls connected that day, and both devolved into “a very vocal argument,” Koebernick wrote.

The inmate’s cellmate was interviewed, and he shared a harrowing story from the night of the suicide. Staff woke him up once they found his cellmate unresponsive and yelled at him to untie the bed sheet. But staff burst in and ordered him back to his bed. He was handcuffed as staff performed CPR and later moved to the holding area.

His cellmate’s corpse was then left in the same holding room in full view of the inmate. He asked to be taken out of the room three or four times but was told no each time. After some time, staff returned him to his cell and then transferred him to a new cell the next day.

The inmate reported suffering a breakdown the day after the suicide, and he reported that mental health staff did not contact him despite his suffering.

During the interview, the inmate told Koebernick that his deceased cellmate had been abusing his prescription drugs in the days leading up to his suicide and often stayed up all night.

Individual C:

Finally, the inspector general’s office investigated the suicide death of a 25-year-old inmate in December of 2021. The man had been incarcerated since 2019, and he was expected to be released in early 2032.

The inmate was not a sex offender at the time of his death, but he was slated to be sentenced for a sex-related offense in federal court the week following his death.

Correctional staff discovered the inmate unresponsive on his bottom bunk early one morning. Like Individual A, Individual C wrapped a bed sheet around his neck and tied it to his top bunk. Chest compressions were attempted, but the inmate was pronounced dead a short time after he was found.

A suicide note showed that the inmate did not want to be a sex offender. The ICIR showed that staff handled the incident well, but the inmate had been checked at “substandard” 30-minute increments.

Another suicide at Tecumseh’s prison in 2016 involved the use of a bed sheet tied to a top bunk, and the ICIR in this incident recommended staff remove the second bunk and cabinets from the prison’s cells.

In his findings, Koebernick concurred with the ICIR’s recommendation and encouraged NDCS to removed second bunks and cabinets from cells in Tecumseh.

He also wrote that body camera footage from the incidents proved helpful in his investigation, but noted that those cameras aren’t in use at the Reception and Treatment Center which primarily handles cases involving mental health.

He then recommended the following actions for NDCS:

NDCS should review the recommendations from the 2018 suicide work group and determine if a special team should be created to focus on suicides and suicide attempts
The department should review its policy regarding psychological autopsies and whether or not they have been completed or remain necessary
The prison in Tecumseh should remove second bunks and cabinets from its cells
Body cameras should be implemented with staff on each shift’s emergency response team
The ICIR process should be amended to include more investigatory means, including interviewing inmates and reviewing additional information in each incident

Inspector General Koebernick shared his findings with NDCS Director Rob Jeffries on June 10. He concluded his report with Jeffries’ response on June 25.

The director wrote back with the following after signing a policy directive for NDCS:

“The mental health director/designee will designate a psychologist who is not assigned to the affected facility to complete a psychological autopsy for all suicides and, as he/she deems appropriate for attempted suicides.”

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Nebraska

York lottery player wins $3,125 in Nebraska Pick 4 drawing

Published

11 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

York lottery player wins ,125 in Nebraska Pick 4 drawing

LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) – One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 4 ticket for the Wednesday, Dec. 10, drawing is holding a ticket worth $3,125.

The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry No. 16 at 109 Lincoln Avenue in York. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 4 drawing were 02, 00, 01, 05.

Winning Nebraska Lottery tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Tickets with total prize amounts of $501 to $19,999 must be claimed by mail or at a regional lottery claim center. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at nelottery.com or by calling 800-587-5200.

Nebraska Pick 4 is a daily lotto game from the Nebraska Lottery. Players select four numbers, each from a separate set of digits from 0 through 9, for a chance to win up to $6,000. Players choose one of six bet types to set their play style and potential prizes. The odds of winning the $3,125 prize in Nebraska Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000.

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Nebraska

Emmett Johnson leaves Nebraska with sterling legacy, All-America status

Published

23 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Emmett Johnson leaves Nebraska with sterling legacy, All-America status

LINCOLN, Neb. — One month ago, on the heels of a breakthrough performance by Emmett Johnson against UCLA, Nebraska launched a Heisman Trophy push for the junior running back.

Johnson enjoyed the limelight. Fans flocked to see him during an appearance in downtown Lincoln and at the high school championship games inside Memorial Stadium. He traveled home to Minneapolis during the Huskers’ bye week and visited his high school, Academy of Holy Angels. He had stopped in previously, but this trip was different.

“It was like a celebrity came to the school,” Holy Angels coach Jim Gunderson said.

In the final two games of the regular season with Nebraska, Johnson rushed for 320 yards, but the Huskers lost them in ugly fashion against Penn State and Iowa to cap a 7-5 regular season. As fast as the Heisman campaign began, it was over — but worthwhile, nonetheless.

Johnson ran this season in part so that running backs at Nebraska who follow him can fly. He leaves Nebraska with a sterling legacy.

On Wednesday, Johnson became the first Nebraska player to receive first-team All-America mentions since linebacker Lavonte David in 2011 — and the fourth running back in the past 70 years, matching Mike Rozier (1982 and ’83), Jarvis Redwine (1980) and Jeff Kinney (1971). His final year ranks among the top five in school history by a running back. Stack it alongside Rozier’s 1983 Heisman season, Lawrence Phillips in 1994, Ahman Green in 1997 and Ameer Abdullah in 2013.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule and his staff aim to use Johnson’s success to help bring backs to Lincoln who can finish what he started.

“It’s very much not in vogue anymore not to wait your turn,” Rhule said. “Sometimes, it’s like, ‘I’ll just go here and do this, just go there.’ But guys like Emmett had chances. And they stayed. And he deserves everything that he’s getting.”

Johnson was named the Big Ten running back of the year, a first at Nebraska. Last Friday, he declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, foregoing his final season of eligibility and the Dec. 31 Las Vegas Bowl.

High praise for the B1G’s top back@Emmett21Johnson pic.twitter.com/g7EhpUE2EP
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) December 11, 2025

What separated Johnson this year?

• His 1,130 yards in Big Ten play were the most by a Power 4 back in conference play. He stands alone with 1995 Heisman winner Eddie George as the only Big Ten players to total 1,100 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards in one season of league play.

• Johnson led the nation by accounting for 40.8 percent of his team’s total yards.

• He was the fourth FBS player since 2017 to average 120 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving.

• His 1,821 yards from scrimmage and 1,451 rushing ranked second and third, respectively, in the FBS.

In form true to his roots, Johnson proved wrong skeptics who believed he could not handle 20 carries per game in Big Ten play.

Does everyone realize how freaking good Emmett Johnson is for @HuskerFootball ? Dude is a straight balla. Quick, decisive, tough, great as a receiver. One of the most underrated RB’s in the Country!
— David Pollack (@davidpollack47) November 28, 2025

“He has always had that chip to prove people wrong and be great,” Gunderson said. “This is how he envisioned it going, and he wasn’t going to be denied.”

Four years ago, on a Sunday in mid-December, less than a week before the signing period opened, Johnson accepted a Nebraska scholarship offer. Ron Brown extended it.

A month earlier, Scott Frost, the Nebraska coach from 2018 to 2022, fired four offensive assistants. Brown, with 24 years of experience as a Nebraska assistant under three head coaches, was elevated late in that season from offensive analyst to running backs coach. He reviewed tape of Johnson, who scored 42 touchdowns and rushed for 2,500 yards at Holy Angels in 2021.

And Brown wondered why no big school had snatched up Johnson.

“I was perplexed,” Brown said. “Because when I saw Emmett play, I thought, ‘This guy is special.’”

Brown had recruited Abdullah from high school in Alabama to Nebraska in 2011. And Brown coached Abdullah in his back-to-back 1,600-yard seasons as a junior and senior before an NFL career that continues this year in its 11th season. In Johnson, Brown saw some of Abdullah’s vision, change of direction, endurance and ability to recover.

Brown quizzed Gunderson, the Holy Angels coach, about Johnson.

“I probably threw 100 questions at him,” Brown said, “looking for something that might be a little bit off, something that I had missed.”

Nothing.

“Coach Brown could just see the intangibles,” Gunderson said, “the stuff that isn’t measured. He saw the potential and the kind of kid who was going to work and who believed in himself.”

Johnson started six games as a redshirt freshman in 2023. He started five in 2024 and found his rhythm in the Nebraska offense when Dana Holgorsen arrived as coordinator last season. In December 2024, Johnson considered entering the transfer portal.

Holgorsen’s commitment helped get him to stay.

“ I think he just wanted to know that somebody had a plan for him,” Gunderson said.

The plan was never to leave Nebraska early. Johnson simply wanted the chance to receive a heavy workload.

He got 32 offensive touches against Cincinnati in the 2025 opener, 24 against Michigan, 23 against Maryland and 29 against Northwestern. In November, after quarterback Dylan Raiola was injured, Johnson stacked three games with 31 opportunities apiece and a 27-touch effort against Penn State.

“This dude really did what he said he was going to do,” Nebraska tight end Luke Lindenmeyer said.

His reliability never came into question.

“I’m so proud of Emmett, man,” senior cornerback Ceyair Wright said. “I think his success is a product of who he is as a person, how he treats people and the work that he puts in.”

Emmett Johnson shouldered a heavy load late in the season, garnering 27-plus touches in each of his final five games for Nebraska. (Harry How / Getty Images)

His humility and care for others rate as Johnson’s most admirable trait. Johnson said he wanted to share credit with his teammates for the accomplishments of this season. He rushed for 177 yards in the first half against Iowa and 217 for the game. But he stressed in the aftermath that he felt badly for older teammates who played their final games in Lincoln on Black Friday.

Turns out, he was among them. Johnson takes pride, he said, in building a new reputation for Nebraska running backs — more than a decade after Abdullah departed, three decades after Green and 42 years after Rozier’s Heisman.

“It matters a lot,” Johnson said, “because Nebraska is a special place. I want to be able to have recruits look at this place and know it’s special. It is special. I’m blessed to be the one doing that and helping. It’s bigger than just football.

“There are a lot of great humans here. That’s what I want to help push.”

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Nebraska

Nebraska lands commitment from DL Jayden Travers adding to early Top 5 recruiting class

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Nebraska lands commitment from DL Jayden Travers adding to early Top 5 recruiting class

Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy 2027 defensive lineman Jayden Travers announced his commitment to Nebraska on Wednesday evening during the broadcast of the Overtime National Championship game.

The Panthers are playing Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon.

The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Travers becomes commit No. 7 for Matt Rhule and the Huskers in the 2027 class, adding to a haul the Rivals Industry already ranked No. 5 nationally early in the cycle.

Nebraska offered Travers in May and he got a chance to visit Lincoln during the fall. He spoke about his decision prior to kickoff with Rivals.

“The culture there is amazing for football,” Travers said. “The coaching. They really care about your well-being. I like the defensive front they run. It’s somewhere I can play and develop at.”

The Rivals Industry tabs Travers as the nation’s No. 56 defensive lineman.

“He is from an extremely tough neighborhood in Baltimore and he has worked his butt of to be in this position for change. very dedicated to the sport and natural leader,” St. Frances head coach Messay Hailemariam said.

Hailemariam likes the decision for Travers as well.

“He felt great about the coaches and his chance at being developed for Sundays,” Hailemariam said before talking about what stands out about about him as a player. “Extremely strong and can use his hands extremely well.”

Other offers for Travers included Michigan, Miami, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Syracuse.

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