2 Nebraska officers wounded, suspect killed in shootout

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Nebraska police officers were wounded and a suspect was killed in a shootout during an attempted burglary, police said.

Omaha police Chief Todd R. Schmaderer said the two officers responded to a report of a burglary at a storage business around 10:30 p.m. Monday, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Employees let the officers into the Dino’s Storage building in central Omaha and they chased the suspect out of an open storage unit. After they caught up to him, the officers got into a physical altercation and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was shot multiple times and was killed.

Police identified the suspect Tuesday as Steven Docken, a 38-year-old local man. Investigators recovered a handgun near his body.

A family member of Docken’s told the newspaper Tuesday morning that the family wouldn’t comment about the incident.

The officers involved in the shooting were Nicholas Lanning and Joshua Moore. They have both been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is reviewed.

The officers were transported to Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha by ambulance and police cruiser. Moore was shot near his knee and might require surgery. Lanning, who is a seven-year veteran, was shot through his upper leg and has been released from the hospital. A department spokesman said Moore, who has been on the police force for a year, was in stable condition Tuesday.

Schmaderer said he spoke to the officers, who were awake and alert after the shootout, and their spouses.

The Nebraska State Patrol and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office were expected to be involved in the investigation. Both officers were wearing body cameras and security video from the storage business was made available for review.

A police spokesman said Tuesday that the body camera footage could not be immediately released because it will be part of a grand jury investigation of the incident that is required under state law.

A woman who answered the phone at the storage business Tuesday referred all questions to the police department.

Docken had been in state prison twice. He spent about two years in prison on drug charges before being released in December 2021. He also served time between December 2013 and June 2017 after being convicted of theft and a gun charge.

The Associated Press