LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police are struggling to respond to more mental health calls as mental health services are at or near capacity, according to police officials.

Lincoln police Chief Jeff Bliemeister told The Lincoln Journal Star that officers responded to more than 3,500 mental health calls last year. He said the department has seen a nearly 10 percent increase through May when compared with the same period last year.

While mental health calls make up about 2.5 percent of calls, they tend to take longer, said Officer Luke Bonkiewicz.

“With mental health calls, there’s much more gray area,” he said. “There’s also the challenge of taking a long-term view of assisting mental health consumers.”

Calls often involve creating a rapport with an individual, calling treatment facilities and considering placement options, Bonkiewicz said. Officers want to help everyone, but resources sometimes aren’t available, he said.

Bliemeister recently told the City Council at a budget meeting that an officer had to transport a person going through a mental health crisis nearly 100 miles west to the nearest hospital that had an opening. Bryan West’s 66-bed mental health unit was full, as were the 16 beds at the Crisis Center.

“While these levels of demand for mental health services are not always overwhelmed, they are increasingly at or near the capacity,” he said.

Bonkiewicz said the Lincoln Police Department has spent the past few decades improving their response to mental health calls. Officers are trained how to respond to mental health calls and are encouraged to perform a threat assessment and de-escalate a situation, he said. Officers are also encouraged to work with community mental health resources.

WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) — The Winnebago Tribe has taken over the management of a troubled hospital on its Native American reservation in northeastern Nebraska.

The Sioux City Journal reports that the Tribal Council officially took over management of the embattled hospital from Indian Health Services on Sunday. It will be renamed Twelve Clans Unity Hospital.

Tribal Councilwoman Victoria Kitcheyan says this will be a new beginning for the hospital.

The hospital will now be run by the same group that oversees all the tribes health clinics and other services.

The change comes more than two years after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services terminated the hospital’s Medicare contract after the Indian Health Service and hospital officials failed to correct serious quality-of-care deficiencies the agency had found.

WASHINGTON – A violent member of the Omaha, Nebraska area Crips Gang was sentenced today to seven years in prison at the federal courthouse in Omaha, following his Feb. 22 jury trial conviction for participating in a racketeering conspiracy involving acts of violence, including attempted murder and assaults, witness tampering, and drug distribution.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Kelly for the District of Nebraska made the announcement.

Jerell Haynie aka “Bootie,” 35, of Omaha, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon, who also ordered him to serve a three year term of supervised release following his prison sentence.

According to evidence presented at trial, from 2008 to 2016, Haynie conspired to conduct and participate in the affairs of the Omaha-area chapter of the Crips, known as the “40th Avenue and 44th Avenue Crips,” through a pattern of racketeering activity.  As a long-standing gang member, Haynie engaged in cocaine trafficking and personally committed acts of violence for the gang in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy.  The evidence presented at trial revealed that Haynie attempted to kill a fellow Crips member suspected of cooperating with the police by shooting a gun at him multiple times.  According to trial evidence, in another incident of violence, Haynie and other gang members participated in a shooting in which they attempted to kill a police informant who made controlled drug purchases from Crips members.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Omaha Police Department are investigating the case.  Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Molsen of the District of Nebraska are prosecuting the case.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A 12-year-old girl is hospitalized after being struck by a baseball at the College Home Run Derby over the weekend.

The girl was in critical condition Monday at the Nebraska Medical Center after being injured during Sunday’s event.

Ashlyn Lutz of Lincoln was injured around 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Initially, she was treated by workers at TD Ameritrade Park before paramedics arrived.

Six of college baseball’s top hitters competed in the event.

JULY 1, 2018 (LINCOLN, NEB.)  — A motorcycle rider was killed in a crash following a short pursuit on Interstate 80 and Highway 6 late Saturday evening.

The pursuit began just after 11:00 p.m. when a trooper observed an eastbound Honda sport bike motorcycle traveling at 110 miles per hour and splitting traffic on Interstate 80 near mile marker 404 in Lincoln, where the speed limit is 65 miles per hour. The trooper attempted to stop the motorcycle, but the rider refused to stop and fled.

The motorcycle exited I-80 at the Waverly exit, at mile marker 409, and continued eastbound on Highway 6. After traveling through Waverly in excess of 80 miles per hour, the motorcycle continued to flee eastbound into Cass County, reaching speeds of more than 120 miles per hour.

When the motorcycle was nearing Greenwood, the rider lost control and crashed. The trooper arrived on scene and began performing CPR and administering other medical aid to the rider, Jeremiah Cummings 40, of Lincoln. Cummings was later pronounced deceased.

The pursuit lasted approximately seven minutes. NSP requested an outside agency, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, to investigate the crash.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A former Pine Ridge Indian Health Service administrator has been sentenced for failing to disclose a $5,000 gift from a pediatrician.

The South Dakota U.S. attorney’s office says 60-year-old Wehnona Stabler, of Nebraska, has been sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation. She was charged in June 2017.

Authorities say Stabler, while a Pine Ridge IHS employee, made a false statement in 2014 on a financial disclosure report about the payment from Dr. Stanley Patrick Weber.

Weber has been indicted for sex abuse of minors while he was a pediatrician at the Pine Ridge hospital.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs man who shot his own mother while showing her his shotgun has been charged with a felony in the case.

The Daily Nonpareil reports that 20-year-old Seth Rennie has been charged with reckless use of a firearm resulting in serious injury. He posted $10,000 bond Friday and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Police say Rennie’s mother was visiting him on May 20 when he showed her his .410 shotgun and how to use it. Rennie told police he thought it was unloaded when he fired a shot, hitting his mother in the torso. She was taken to an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital with injuries, including a damaged liver. She told police the shooting was an accident.

Rennie’s next court hearing is July 18.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged an Omaha man with robbing a Lincoln bank last week.

30-year-old Kevin Brown appeared before a judge in Omaha on Monday.

Prosecutors say Brown and another person went into the Great Western Bank branch in southeast Lincoln on June 22, acted as though they had a gun and demanded bank employees to lie on the floor.

Officials say the pair stole nearly $85,000.

No customers were inside at the time of the robbery, and no one was hurt.

Prosecutors say Brown has no prior record but characterized the bank robbery as a violent crime.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Metropolitan Community College will again offer Drone Flight School as part of its non-credit lineup.

The series is designed for people seeking to learn how to fly drones for leisure or business while preparing students for the FAA Aeronautical Knowledge Exam.

The series opens with “Intro to Drone Pilot Training” on July 14 at the college’s Fort Omaha Campus. Students will be introduced to rules and regulations needed to fly drones and will finish the course by navigating drones through an indoor obstacle course.

The series continues with FAA drone pilot certification training on July 21 and July 28. The 14-hour training class gives students in-depth instruction on FAA laws before they take a certification exam.

MCC is also adding another Drone Flight School course beginning in August.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The owners or directors of six child care centers in Lincoln and Omaha have been accused of stealing more than $350,000 by defrauding a federal program.

Federal prosecutors say five people were charged with theft. Two of them also were charged with money laundering.

They were accused of submitting false claims for reimbursement for dates and times they’d provided care for qualifying children. The children qualified for federal help under the Child Care and Development Fund Program. To qualify they have to be under 13 or up to 19 if physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves, plus live with family members who qualify for the program financially and are working or attending job training or school.