One man dead, officer in critical condition following overnight shooting
<b>The family of Jason Tye Pratt kept a hospital vigil Friday as the Omaha police officer, husband and father lay in critical condition following a traffic stop the night before that ended in gunfire and death.
Pratt, 30, had been in critical condition since being shot once in the head about 10 p.m. Thursday near Miami Street and 34th Avenue, according to police and scanner reports.
Interim Police Chief Al Pepin said Friday that Pratt's outlook "is not good."
Another man involved in the shooting, Albert W. Rucker, 21, died at 2:21 a.m., police said. According to scanner reports, he was shot multiple times.
Officer Robert Branch and Officer Frank Platt pulled over a rusty green Chevrolet near 33rd and Corby Streets for erratic driving at 9:50 p.m. Rucker was the car's only occupant.
The officers announced by radio at 9:53 p.m. that they were chasing a man on foot. Soon after, Platt announced that he had lost sight of the man in the area of 34th Avenue and Corby Street.
Pratt, Officer Erik Gustafson and two other northeast precinct officers arrived in the area as backup, along with four other officers. A command officer was at the scene, and a police dog unit was en route.
The officers set up a perimeter and began searching the area. During the search, Pratt found Rucker near 34th and Corby.
Pratt then came under fire. Platt returned fire, hitting Rucker.
An officer announced on the police radio that an officer was down and had been shot.
Officers put handcuffs on Rucker soon after he was shot - following normal procedures - but removed them at the request of medical personnel at the scene. </b>
Officer Jason Pratt
Albert W. Rucker
Albert Rucker has been arrested 47 times, and has had over 100 run-ins with the law. Read on:
<b>According to court records, Rucker had outstanding warrants for his arrest in Douglas County for failing to obey court orders.
He was found guilty and sentenced in 2000 for second-degree assault. A judge ordered Rucker to serve jail time and three years of probation.
He also was awaiting a court hearing for violating his probation and a trial for being a felon in possession of a weapon in 2002.
Relatives of Albert W. Rucker met at his father's house Friday to remember the 21-year-old's brief life.
Tears covered several faces as the family dealt with a range of emotions - shock, anger and grief.
Charlene Tate-Haynes, an aunt of Rucker's, said her nephew had "a few run-ins" with police in the past, but she did not want to discuss them.
Court records show that Rucker spent time in a youth rehabilitation center, had been convicted of assault and faced weapons charges.
Tate-Haynes said she wanted to talk about the positive things about Rucker, such as how he liked spending time with his four children.
One picture that relatives were looking at Friday showed Rucker's 5-year-old son, Daytrel Thomas. The boy was wearing a shiny, blue gown after graduating from a preschool program run by the Child and Family Development Corp.
Rucker also had a 3-year-old son, Albert Tate-Rucker, and 1-year-old twin girls, Cytaya and Saytaya Tate-Rucker.
Another picture showed Rucker with his arm around his grandmother and a smile on his face.
"He loved being around people," Tate-Haynes said. "Little Albert has a smile like his dad."
The family photo is a stark contrast to a mug shot of Rucker released by Omaha police.</b>
Now, Albert Rucker's family has the nerve to go on a local Omaha news channel, and complain that Prayer Vigils are being conducted for the downed Police Officer, while there is no public mourning for their loss. WTF!!! STFU!!! You're man was a career criminal that shot a Police Officer. Maybe if Mr. Rucker was even slightly concerned for his 4 children, he wouldn't have been out shooting police officers.