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Justin Craig Lieffers

Age : 43

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/10/2025

Location : 27th Street and Fairview Street

City : Bellevue

County : Sarpy

State : Nebraska

Agency : Bellevue Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Physical restraint

Event : Killed by police during arrest

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/10/2025, at approximately 12:46 p.m., Bellevue Police Department officers responded to the 9300 block of South 28th Avenue after a resident called police about an unclothed man in the backyard swimming pool. The caller alleged that the man subsequently attempted unsuccessfully to enter the residence before leaving the property. Police later identified him as 43-year-old Bellevue resident Justin Lieffers.
Officers located Lieffers nearby in the area of 27th and Fairview streets. According to Bellevue Police, Lieffers ran when officers encountered him. Officers pursued him on foot, caught him and attempted to take him into custody. Police alleged that Lieffers physically resisted the arrest. Officers then used physical force to subdue him and placed him in handcuffs.
Immediately after officers restrained and handcuffed Lieffers, he became unresponsive and stopped breathing. Officers began lifesaving measures and continued until Bellevue Fire Department medical personnel arrived. Paramedics transported Lieffers to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he was pronounced dead.
The Sarpy County Force Investigation Team, a multi-agency investigative unit, assumed responsibility for investigating Lieffers' death. In the days after the incident, Sarpy County prosecutors said investigators had not yet established or publicly disclosed his cause of death or whether a particular police use of force contributed to his death. The case was scheduled for mandatory grand-jury review under Nebraska law governing deaths occurring in law-enforcement custody.
Later reporting stated that the original 911 call described Lieffers as possibly under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. That information concerned his apparent condition before officers encountered him and did not establish his medical cause of death. The publicly available sources located for this update do not provide a final autopsy finding establishing what caused Lieffers to stop breathing immediately after the physical struggle and restraint.
On 02/18/2026, Sarpy County announced the result of the grand-jury investigation. Jurors reviewed the evidence collected by the multi-jurisdictional Sarpy County Force Investigation Team and found no criminal conduct by the Bellevue officers involved in Lieffers' restraint and arrest. The grand jury returned no indictments and made no recommendations for changes to Bellevue Police Department policies or procedures.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.ketv.com/article/bellevue-man-in-custody-death-investigation-police-officers/65655239
https://www.wowt.com/2025/08/11/authorities-investigating-in-custody-death-bellevue-police-say
https://bellevuetimes.com/sarpy-county-team-investigates-in-custody-death-in-bellevue/