Kerrie Orozco: A Life of Service, A Legacy That Endures

On May 20, 2015, Kerrie Orozco went to work knowing her life was about to change. Her daughter, born three months early, was finally coming home from the hospital. Orozco had delayed her maternity leave until that moment, planning to begin it the next day. 

Instead, she was killed while serving an arrest warrant in North Omaha. She was 29. 

Outside her work as an officer, Orozco spent much of her time with young people in Omaha. She coached youth baseball through the Boys and Girls Club, where many knew her as “Coach K.” It was a role she took seriously, often getting out of her patrol car to play basketball with kids or encourage them to join her team. She showed up consistently, paid attention, and made time for the young people she worked with. 

Orozco joined the Omaha Police Department in 2007 after graduating from Bellevue University where she earned a degree in Criminal Justice. She began on patrol before working across several units, including the Criminal Investigations Bureau, Gang Unit, and the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force, where she contributed to investigations involving gang activity and violent crime. The assignment required long hours, coordination across agencies and relationships built within the community.

Her work placed her in neighborhoods where trust and safety were ongoing conversations, not fixed conditions.

On May 20, 2015, Orozco was part of the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force conducting an operation to locate and arrest a suspect wanted on a felony warrant in North Omaha when she was shot. She was transported to Creighton University Medical Center, where she died from her injuries later that day. 

At the time, Orozco had recently become a mother. Her daughter, Olivia, had been born prematurely. Orozco had delayed taking her maternity leave until Olivia was able to come home, and she was scheduled to begin that leave the day after the operation. News of her death spread quickly across Omaha, prompting a response that extended beyond law enforcement. Community members, elected officials and organizations gathered in the days that followed to honor her life and service.

In the years since, Orozco’s name has remained present across the city, through scholarships, memorials and public recognitions established in her honor. Those efforts reflect both her role as a detective and her work outside of uniform, particularly her involvement with youth athletics and mentorship.

Her story continues to be referenced in conversations about public safety, community relationships and what it means to serve.

For those who knew her in the gym, on the field or in the neighborhoods she worked in, the memory often returns to something simpler: consistency, presence and care.

Before the headlines, there was a coach calling out encouragement from the sideline.

And for many, that is where her legacy begins.