LINCOLN — Advocates for All Nebraskans has paused its petition campaign seeking to require Lincoln to employ at least 450 full-time police officers, citing concerns about the integrity of the local petition process and what the group described as a “toxic political environment.” The decision follows a separate Lincoln petition controversy in which more than 13,000 signatures were suspected of being fraudulent, and five petition circulators were arrested. Organizer Eric Underwood said the controversy made it unrealistic to gather enough signatures before November deadlines, but the group plans to pursue the proposal in a future election or special election.

The group maintains that Lincoln’s police staffing has not kept pace with the city’s population of more than 300,000 and argues that 450 officers would improve the officer-to-resident ratio and public safety. Lincoln officials have previously questioned the proposal’s legality and warned that hiring enough officers to meet the requirement could cost as much as $13 million annually, potentially requiring higher property taxes or cuts to other city services.

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