--- description: Kerrie Orozco, 29, had delivered a premature baby girl in February title: Nebraska Police Officer Gunned Down Hours Before Her Maternity Leave Begins image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14b030d142a8d9f7/6988511bf887dc11bfe9093f/ap809532739260-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nebraska Police Officer Gunned Down Hours Before Her Maternity Leave Begins by [Henry Austin/NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Henry Austin/NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 21, 2015 1:54 PM CUT  This photo provided by the Omaha Police Department shows officer Kerrie Orozco. This photo provided by the Omaha Police Department shows officer Kerrie Orozco.Omaha Police Department/AP by [Henry Austin/NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Henry Austin/NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 21, 2015 1:54 PM CUT Omaha cop Kerrie Orozco had put off starting maternity leave until her premature baby girl could come home from the hospital. Just hours before bringing her daughter home and taking the long-awaited leave, Orozco was gunned down on the job by a suspect. “A life taken too soon,” Omaha Police Department said on their [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/OmahaPoliceDepartment "undefined") page, adding that the seven-year veteran of the force was “not only a top notch police officer but she gave back to the community in so many ways.” The 29-year-old Orozco delivered Olivia Ruth early in February. The baby girl stayed in the hospital for… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cop-gunned-down-hours-starting-maternity-leave-n362441?cid=par-time-article%5F20141002 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3892212/nebraska-omaha-police-maternity-leave/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3892212/nebraska-omaha-police-maternity-leave/"},"headline":"Nebraska Police Officer Gunned Down Hours Before Her Maternity Leave Begins","datePublished":"2015-05-21T13:54:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:31:38.495Z","description":"Kerrie Orozco, 29, had delivered a premature baby girl in February","url":"https://time.com/3892212/nebraska-omaha-police-maternity-leave/","keywords":["Crime","Accident","nebraska"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14b030d142a8d9f7/6988511bf887dc11bfe9093f/ap809532739260-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Henry Austin/NBC News"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14b030d142a8d9f7/6988511bf887dc11bfe9093f/ap809532739260-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"This photo provided by the Omaha Police Department shows officer Kerrie Orozco.","caption":"This photo provided by the Omaha Police Department shows officer Kerrie Orozco.","creditText":"Omaha Police Department/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3892212/nebraska-omaha-police-maternity-leave/","name":"Nebraska Police Officer Gunned Down Hours Before Her Maternity Leave Begins"}}]}] ```