Bryan Tuma addresses attendees, both in person and via video, of the State of the Agency Lecture Series as Director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency on University Of Nebrsaka-Lincoln campus, Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. (Still from video lecture)
Governor Jim Pillen announced his appointment of Bryan Tuma for Executive Director of the Nebraska Crime Commission following the resignation of previous director, Don Arp.
Tuma is a former Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) Supervisor and former director for the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
“Bryan has extensive experience in public safety, particularly in law enforcement and in the area of emergency management,” said Governor Pillen. “He is a five-star recruit for this role – someone who has leadership, administrative, and strategic planning skills that will greatly benefit the Crime Commission and its work in supporting other agencies tasked with protecting the public.”
Previous Director Arp submitted his resignation to Gov. Pllen last week, formally, to “pursue career interests outside of state government.” It’s hard to omit that Arp’s resignation comes a shortly after a Flatwater Free Press article was published in May. The article details how a program overseen by Arp, Nebraska’s Crime Victim’s Reparations program, disproportionately helps far fewer victims when compared to other states. The report focuses specifically on Kuuleilani Zalopany, who was denied reparations in relation to her 17-year-old son’s 2020 murder during a robbery in her home. Arp was the programs only hearing officer and denied the request over concerns about who had paid for her son’s funeral. This decision was reaffirmed by the committee due to supposed “culpability with regard to the act which produced the injury to the victim.”
New Director Tuma has worked in state government for nearly four decades. Thirty-two of those years were with the NSP. In 2005, Tuma was appointed by then-Governor Dave Heineman to serve as superintendent of NSP, a position he held until his retirement in 2011. After that, he was safety coordinator for DuPont Pioneer. In 2014, he returned to state service as the assistant director for the NEMA. His most recent experience with the state has been as the safety and emergency preparedness coordinator for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Tuma has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He assumed his new duties for the Crime Commission today, June 12th.
(Photo Courtesy: University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice)