[Pnews] Omaha 2 - Police lieutenant sought arrest of Senator Ernie Chambers in Minard murder

[Prisoner News]

  Police lieutenant sought arrest of Senator Ernie Chambers in Minard murder

Michael Richardson
*http://www.examiner.com/article/police-lieutenant-sought-arrest-of-senator-ernie-chambers-minard-murder*

January 7, 2014

Former Omaha police lieutenant James Perry told a private investigator 
hired by Nebraskans for Justice that he pushed for the arrest of Ernie 
Chambers for the 1970 murder of policeman Larry Minard, Sr. 
<http://www.examiner.com/article/omaha-patrolman-larry-minard-killed-ambush-bombing-after-911-call> 
A 2002 interview with Perry, conducted by Thomas Gorgen, was made public 
for the first time on Jan.7, 2014, at Examiner.com. Nebraskans for 
Justice is a grassroots group formed to help the Omaha Two, Ed 
Poindexter 
<http://www.examiner.com/article/prison-interview-with-ed-poindexter-on-cointelpro-and-the-omaha-police>and 
Mondo we Langa 
<http://www.examiner.com/article/prison-interview-with-mondo-we-langa-on-cointelpro-and-omaha-two-case> 
(formerly David Rice), obtain justice.

Nebraska State Senator Chambers scoffs at suggestions he was involved in 
the bombing murder of Minard and has been the most vocal champion of the 
Omaha Two, who are serving life sentences at the Nebraska State 
Penitentiary in Lincoln. The imprisoned pair were leaders of Omaha's 
Black Panther affiliate chapter and targets of COINTELPRO 
<http://www.examiner.com/article/crimes-of-cointelpro-heard-at-northeastern-law-school-seminar>, 
a clandestine counterintelligence operation of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation. The men's trial was tainted by COINTELPRO manipulation of 
evidence and also marred by conflicting police testimony.

James Perry maintained the FBI had no role in the investigation except 
in locating Duane Peak, the confessed bomber. "No they didn't have 
anything to do with it. I take that back they did get an informant to 
tell where Peak was hiding out."

J. Edgar Hoover 
<http://www.examiner.com/article/j-edgar-hoover-signed-off-on-secret-cointelpro-plan-to-guide-omaha-police> 
had targeted Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa, so Omaha Special 
Agent-in-Charge Paul Young carried out a secret plan to withhold a 
report from the FBI Laboratory on the identity of the 911 caller who 
lured officer Minard to his death in a vacant house. However, Young's 
plan to get the Omaha Two convicted for the crime needed the help of 
local police.

U.S. District Court Judge Warren Urbom 
<http://www.examiner.com/article/federal-judge-says-supreme-court-got-it-wrong-on-black-panther-mondo-we-langa> 
has cautioned listening to Lt. Perry on the case and explained in detail 
why he does not trust what Perry had to say in a published court 
decision in Mondo's appeal.

"Given these facts I simply cannot credit this testimony of Lt. Perry," 
declared Urbom. "On the basis of the entire record before this court and 
having heard and seen Lt. Perry testify, it is impossible for me to 
credit his testimony in the respects mentioned. "

James Perry is now deceased. During his 2002 tape-recorded interview, 
Perry said he believed Ernie Chambers was behind the killing.

"What you want to do is get Rice to talk and (unclear) Ernie Chambers," 
said Perry. When asked if there was a connection between the two, Perry 
was quick to answer. "Oh I know it is. He is the guy that turned him in."

Perry described a large conspiracy to kill a policeman including all the 
Peak family and Raleigh House, treasurer of the Omaha Panther chapter, 
as well as Ernie Chambers. Perry said, "Tell Rice to start talking he'd 
get out of jail."

"He doesn't even have to show remorse. You know there is a lot of guys, 
the Raleigh House and Ernie Chambers and oh what is that other guys 
name, a couple of other guys, all friends, and some white gal and that 
whole bunch of them should have been there [prison]," said Perry.

"And they had a guy here in town before. You know they had other 
bombings before that," said Perry. "I worked with Intelligence, me and 
Swanson," Perry said referring to Jack Swanson who testified at trial 
that he found dynamite in Mondo's basement. "At the time there was a guy 
by the name of Crutch Holiday from the Oakland Chapter of Black Panthers 
in town. First he went up to, he was in Des Moines and shortly after 
there they had a booby trapped suitcase, or not a suitcase but toolbox 
that was left under a interstate viaduct or something up there." Perry 
added, "But the police were a little smarter than ours. They didn't come 
up and kick it or anything."

Jack Swanson, the Omaha police liaison with the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, also had his mind on Ernie Chambers. Swanson added 
Chambers to a list he prepared of suspects for questioning.

Perry elaborated on his suspicions about Chambers. "And the first time I 
ever seen Ernie Chambers in my life other than we've had him under 
surveillance, and he was around that Black Panther Headquarters all the 
time but the first time I seen him in person is I went up to the Panther 
Headquarters there to interview Poindexter and I was talking to 
Poindexter and about that time here comes Ernie Chambers skidding to a 
stop and he advised him not to talk to us. And at that time Ernie 
Chambers was a Black Panther candidate for school board."

Perry continued, "So if you connect all the dots the reason Rice is 
keeping quiet is cause he figures Ernie Chambers is going to pop him 
someday."

Perry was asked what led the police to the Black Panther leadership. 
Perry replied sarcastically, "You would have to be a sap sucking idiot 
not to know who was responsible for the bombing you know."

Perry told of a discussion he had with a prosecutor about prosecuting 
Chambers and others. "And I talked to Sam Cooper. I wanted him to charge 
them all."

Perry closed the interview, "Yeah get Ernie Chambers...get him charged."

Ernie Chambers continues to be a vocal defender of Ed Poindexter and 
Mondo we Langa. Both men remain imprisoned for a crime in which they 
both deny any involvement. Supporters of the Omaha Two call the men 
political prisoners.

*For further information see CRIME MAGAZINE 
<http://www.crimemagazine.com/j-edgar-hoover-and-framing-omaha-two>*

/Permission granted to reprint/

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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