Lincoln Police officer who was subject of protection orders resigns | Nebraska

More than two months after three people filed civil defense orders against him, a Lincoln police officer has resigned from the department.

Wallage, through his attorney Tara Gardner-Williams, declined to comment on his departure. Police did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Wallage had been with the police for seven months when District Judge Robert Otte signed two domestic violence protection orders and one harassment order against him in September, following a Sept. 11 incident at Wallage’s former residence, where he attempted to break in amid a separation from his Woman.

At a civil court hearing in September, Wallage said he believed his actions were justified when he tried to force his way into the north Lincoln home, but acknowledged he could have handled the situation differently.

He arrived at the home around 1 p.m. that afternoon and says he tried to force his way through a garage driveway without ever knocking on the front door. He told Otte he didn’t think anyone was home, even though there was a van in the driveway.

A 19-year-old man, who was one of two people in the house when Wallage started banging on the door, said he would have let the 51-year-old in if he had simply knocked.

A tenant who lived in the basement heard the commotion and wrote a testimony, describing the incident as “terrifying”. Wallage’s wife, a 39-year-old woman, who was not home at the time, called police.

At the court hearing, Wallage told Otte he didn’t warn his wife that he was going to come to the house that day because he didn’t have to. The couple bought the home together in May, according to county property records, and Wallage remained part owner in September.

Wallage had not lived in the home since July, when police first responded to the couple’s North 16th Street home when the former officer’s wife called after Wallage broke down the same door.

Police cited his wife for third-degree domestic assault for allegedly hitting her husband with a bladeless fan on July 13, according to the incident report obtained from the call. Prosecutors later dropped the assault charges against the woman.

At the September hearing, Wallage and his attorney said they would accept a civil order through the couple’s divorce case barring him from entering the north Lincoln home — a less serious offense that would restore his right to a firearm wear.

However, his wife asked Otte to maintain the formal protective order.

Otte eventually sided with Wallage’s wife – but removed a provision in the original protective orders that prevented the 51-year-old from carrying a firearm, paving the way for him to return to police service.

But Wallage remained under internal investigation at the police force, where his tenure ended with his resignation last month.

Wallage, a former sergeant with the Chadron Police Department and a 24-year law enforcement veteran, joined LPD in January.