DaveH
Team HuskerBoard
Published Saturday
December 31, 2005
Trooper guarded Pederson at last home game
BY PAUL HAMMEL
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - A state bodyguard was assigned to NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson at Nebraska's final home football game of 2005 after it was determined that a "legitimate threat" was made against Pederson and his family, state officials said Friday.
Click to Enlarge
Steve Pederson
A uniformed state trooper from Gov. Dave Heineman's security detail was assigned to Pederson's suite at Memorial Stadium during the Nov. 12 Nebraska-Kansas State game, said Deb Collins, a Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman.
The order came following Nebraska's 40-15 loss at Kansas, the Cornhuskers' third straight defeat. It was a response, in part, to a column that appeared Nov. 9 in a weekly newspaper published in North Platte, Pederson's hometown.
In the column, correspondent Ben Schwartz of the North Platte Bulletin wrote of Husker fans' disappointment over the first loss to Kansas since 1968.
One segment read: "Tell me it's wrong to call up Steve Pederson's house at 3 in the morning, breathe heavily into the phone and then whisper, 'I'm going to kill your children.'"
"So that last one may be wrong, but I want to win some . . . football games," it continued.
Schwartz and Bulletin publisher Frank Graham both said they were contacted by a State Patrol investigator on the eve of the Kansas State game.
Schwartz, a 23-year-old North Platte native who attends a technical school in Mendota Heights, Minn., said Friday that he was attempting to satirize how serious Nebraskans are about their football team in his humor column, but the attempt misfired.
"It was completely inappropriate, and I'd never do anything like that again," said Schwartz, who apologized in a later column.
Schwartz said that he assured a state investigator that no threat was intended by the column, but he was told that security would be beefed up at the Kansas State game in case someone acted on his words.
That investigator, Rick McKain of North Platte, said he understood that other threats were involved but that the column was the "most direct."
Collins, the State Patrol spokeswoman, said that after discussions between the governor's office and patrol officials, it was determined that there was a "legitimate threat" and that added security was warranted. She said an investigation is still in progress and no charges have been filed.
Chris Anderson, NU athletic department spokeswoman, said she had no comment other than to say the State Patrol felt the security precaution was warranted.
Assigning a state trooper from the governor's detail to provide security for a university employee would be an unusual step, but Collins said the timing of the threat - right before the game - warranted a special circumstance.
Two campus police officers - not state troopers - provide an escort for the Nebraska football coach during games. The troopers assigned to the governor have, in the past, provided temporary security for State Supreme Court judges as well as visiting dignitaries, Collins said.
Most recently, on Dec. 31, 2004, an executive protection trooper was assigned to provide surveillance at the Lincoln home of Attorney General Jon Bruning after his family was threatened.
A unit of eight troopers is assigned to provide security for the governor at the executive mansion in Lincoln and elsewhere.
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December 31, 2005
Trooper guarded Pederson at last home game
BY PAUL HAMMEL
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - A state bodyguard was assigned to NU Athletic Director Steve Pederson at Nebraska's final home football game of 2005 after it was determined that a "legitimate threat" was made against Pederson and his family, state officials said Friday.
Click to Enlarge
Steve Pederson
A uniformed state trooper from Gov. Dave Heineman's security detail was assigned to Pederson's suite at Memorial Stadium during the Nov. 12 Nebraska-Kansas State game, said Deb Collins, a Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman.
The order came following Nebraska's 40-15 loss at Kansas, the Cornhuskers' third straight defeat. It was a response, in part, to a column that appeared Nov. 9 in a weekly newspaper published in North Platte, Pederson's hometown.
In the column, correspondent Ben Schwartz of the North Platte Bulletin wrote of Husker fans' disappointment over the first loss to Kansas since 1968.
One segment read: "Tell me it's wrong to call up Steve Pederson's house at 3 in the morning, breathe heavily into the phone and then whisper, 'I'm going to kill your children.'"
"So that last one may be wrong, but I want to win some . . . football games," it continued.
Schwartz and Bulletin publisher Frank Graham both said they were contacted by a State Patrol investigator on the eve of the Kansas State game.
Schwartz, a 23-year-old North Platte native who attends a technical school in Mendota Heights, Minn., said Friday that he was attempting to satirize how serious Nebraskans are about their football team in his humor column, but the attempt misfired.
"It was completely inappropriate, and I'd never do anything like that again," said Schwartz, who apologized in a later column.
Schwartz said that he assured a state investigator that no threat was intended by the column, but he was told that security would be beefed up at the Kansas State game in case someone acted on his words.
That investigator, Rick McKain of North Platte, said he understood that other threats were involved but that the column was the "most direct."
Collins, the State Patrol spokeswoman, said that after discussions between the governor's office and patrol officials, it was determined that there was a "legitimate threat" and that added security was warranted. She said an investigation is still in progress and no charges have been filed.
Chris Anderson, NU athletic department spokeswoman, said she had no comment other than to say the State Patrol felt the security precaution was warranted.
Assigning a state trooper from the governor's detail to provide security for a university employee would be an unusual step, but Collins said the timing of the threat - right before the game - warranted a special circumstance.
Two campus police officers - not state troopers - provide an escort for the Nebraska football coach during games. The troopers assigned to the governor have, in the past, provided temporary security for State Supreme Court judges as well as visiting dignitaries, Collins said.
Most recently, on Dec. 31, 2004, an executive protection trooper was assigned to provide surveillance at the Lincoln home of Attorney General Jon Bruning after his family was threatened.
A unit of eight troopers is assigned to provide security for the governor at the executive mansion in Lincoln and elsewhere.
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