Lincoln Police have identified the man who was shot and killed by a uniformed Burlington Northern Sante Fe Special Agent after crashing his car into a Chick-fil-A near 27th and Pine Lake Road Tuesday afternoon.
Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister says 48 year old Joseph Cimino was upset about the food he was served. He says Cimino began throwing food from tables and got into an altercation with a customer before another one escorted him out.
Bliemeister says Cimino then climbed into his truck and drove backward through the west side of the restaurant. Police said Cimino got out of his vehicle and continued to cause a disturbance and began punching a lemonade stand.
He says Burlington Northern Special Agent Christopher Hall was in a marked vehicle in the drive-thru waiting for his food when he saw employees jumping out of the drive-thru window in a panic.
Hall got out of his vehicle and went to investigate. Bliemeister says he then realized Cimino was armed with a stun gun. Bliemeister says Hall tried to create space between himself and Cimino, but Cimino kept moving toward him with the stun gun and making threats.
He says that's when Hall fired his gun, killing Cimino. Hall was performing CPR on Cimino when police arrived. Hall, an eight year veteran, is scheduled to be interviewed by Lincoln Police on Wednesday. Bliemeister said there no evidence to show the stun gun was ever used.
On Tuesday night, authorities served a search warrant at Cimino’s home where they found digital evidence. Bliemeister says so far in the investigation there is nothing to show Cimino's actions were premeditated.