Omaha officer followed

Had she not been a police officer, who knows what might have happened?

Maybe nothing.

But on Tuesday, police found a stun gun in the front seat of an SUV driven by a 47-year-old Omaha man who had been following the plainclothes female officer for several miles — changing lanes when she changed lanes, slowing when her car slowed.

The officer, an 18-year veteran, was returning an unmarked police car to the police training facility in northwest Omaha when she made eye contact with a male driver on the North Freeway.

The man began following her, near the Lake Street exit, according to a police report. He kept following her up 30th Street, through the Florence area and onto Interstate 680.

The female officer finally pulled over at the Fort Street exit off I-680 just before 4 p.m. The man followed.

The officer got out of the unmarked car holding her police badge and asked to see the man's identification. He refused and left the area.

The officer followed the man to a parking lot near 99th Street and Blair High Road. Other officers arrived and ordered the man out of his Chevy Tahoe, at gunpoint, after he refused their order to get out. The officers found the stun gun on the floor of the front seat.

The man was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, careless driving and obstructing a peace officer.

People in such situations shouldn't hesitate to call 911, said Omaha Police Officer Jacob Bettin, a police spokesman. "Don't let things escalate to the point where it could be too late to make a call," he said.

Bettin said people who are concerned about another driver also could drive to a police precinct, a fire station or a highly populated area.

"The presence of people could make the person less likely to commit a crime," Bettin said.