Police: Man killed after pursuit involved in disturbances at two other Omaha homes

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Police say the man who died after officers shot him at the end of a high-speed pursuit along two interstates into Iowa was involved in incidents at two southwest Omaha homes before police found another man dead in a third residence Saturday morning.

Matthew Briggs, 41, was shot and killed Saturday on a road near Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs after a 3:30 p.m. carjacking led to a multi-agency chase that at times exceeded 100 miles per hour.

Briggs had been sought by police after 52-year-old Steven Greg Donsbach had been found dead in a residence on Essex Drive, near Regency Park, that morning.

According to a follow-up report from the Omaha Police Department, officers were first called to a home in southwest Omaha shortly before 6 a.m. after Briggs forced himself into that residence and physically assaulted the woman who lives there. She was able to run away from the home and call 911, the report states, but Briggs left before officers arrived.

Investigators later determined that minutes later, Briggs had tried to drive his red 2005 Buick Century sedan through the garage of a second southwest Omaha home but wasn’t able to get in. He left but returned at about 6:20 a.m., this time successfully ramming his car through the garage door, according to the report. He got into the residence, but the woman who lived there wasn’t home at the time.

Police said a neighbor tried to check on the situation as Briggs was leaving, and that Briggs shot at the neighbor, prompting a 911 call shortly thereafter.

Information provided to Omaha Police prompted officers to do a well-being check at the Essex Drive home just before 7 a.m. That’s when officers forced their way into the home and found Donsbach dead, the report states.

Unable to locate Briggs, police advised the public hours later to be on the lookout for him and his red sedan. The vehicle was found — unoccupied — not long after in Mandan Park near Bellevue, thanks to a 911 report from a member of the public, the OPD report states. Multiple OPD investigative units, including K9 officers and air patrol, searched the surrounding area.

Then at about 3:30 p.m., a carjacking by a person matching Briggs’ description was reported south of the park. Authorities from several local agencies pursued the blue Toyota Camry into Iowa. The chase — reaching more than 100 miles per hour along interstates 80 and 29, and more than 80 miles per hour along Wabash Avenue — ended near College Road and Valley View Drive in Council Bluffs, where an Omaha Police officer and a Council Bluffs Police officer each fired at Briggs while he was still in the vehicle, according to the OPD report.

“Officers immediately provided medical aid to Mr. Briggs,” the report states.

Briggs was transported to Nebraska Medical Center, where he later died.

Police also said they found two firearms in that stolen car.

The two officers who fired at Briggs, ultimately killing him, were placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with their departments’ policies for officer-involved shootings.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation also activated an investigation team in conjunction with Omaha and Council Bluffs police departments. Investigators plan to interview the officers involved in the shooting at a later date. Once complete, the investigation will be reviewed by the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office.

OPD said they would provide further information on the investigations involved as more information becomes available.

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