CRAWFORD, Neb.—A special prosecutor has been named to lead the investigation into the death of a 16-year-old boy who was shot by police last week at an abandoned bar.
Morrill County Attorney Jean Rhodes of Bridgeport was appointed Friday by Dawes County District Court Judge Brian Silverman.
Rhodes’ appointment came two days after the shooting death of Jesse Britton. The case has drawn criticism from community members who say police unnecessarily shot Britton, a suspect in a string of burglaries.
Rhodes has selected three special investigators: Scottsbluff Police Detective Mark Overman, Sheridan County Sgt. Scott DeCoste and retired Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent Ronald Rawalt, who lives in the North Platte area.
State law requires a grand injury investigation any time police are involved in a death.
Rhodes said Dawes County citizens will serve on the panel, which will examine evidence and determine whether any laws were broken.
Over the weekend, the exterior of the former Frontier Bar in downtown Crawford was covered with letters, messages and poems left by friends of Britton and others.
A group of girls, including Britton’s girlfriend, 14-year-old Jessica Price, hung posters with messages of love and prayers for Britton’s mother, Patty.
Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug confirmed that Britton died as the result of police gunfire at the former bar, where the Crawford High School junior was said to have been hiding.
Haug said in a news release that a handgun was recovered from inside the bar, but he did not say whether the boy was threatening police with the weapon when he was shot.
———
Information from: Star-Herald,
