Sarpy County deputy injured when suspect flees

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - A shoplifting investigation turns into an assault on a deputy.

The incident was captured on body camera as a seemingly routine call turned violent.

A Sarpy County deputy confronted a suspected shoplifter outside the outlet mall.

Store security cameras capture photos of two women allegedly taking items without paying for them.

“I didn’t shoplift nothing,” one suspect was heard saying.

Mall security points out a second suspect in the parking lot.

“You are under investigation for shoplifting,” the deputy said. The suspect replies “not me, that is not me.”

Both women refuse to stop and head toward a car.

Deputy: “Don’t you dare put your keys in the vehicle.”

Suspect: “I’m not.”

Mall security can’t make an arrest, and before backup gets there one deputy must handle two suspects.

That’s when the deputy is injured.

With the passenger side door, the deputy struggled to take one suspect into custody. The other suspect allegedly got behind the wheel, started the car and backed up to get away.

“One of the sharper parts of the door came back and lacerated the deputy’s cheek,” said Sgt. Blanke Raughton with the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office. “But he was still able to maintain control of the first suspect he was originally trying to detain.”

The other suspect got away in a black Nissan with no license plates.

“We’ve seen in the past where suspects will take off license plates to help where we can’t recognize the vehicle.”

Hopefully, someone will recognize the suspect who fled and now faces not only a shoplifting charge, but also resisting arrest and assault on an officer.

The veteran deputy needed stitches for the cut to the face but can go back on duty.

Investigators say the suspect he took into custody won’t reveal the name of the accomplice. If you can identify the woman who drove the car that injured the deputy, call the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office or Sarpy County Crimestoppers and you might get a reward.

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