A former police chief from the small central Nebraska town of Harvard is facing sentencing after a gun charge tied to a bizarre incident this past summer at a University of Nebraska at Omaha classroom session on human trafficking and child exploitation. Wayne Alley, 47, was found with a 9 mm handgun in his pocket after university officers say he acted inappropriately during the July 16 presentation, prompting two attendees to walk out.
According to Omaha World-Herald, Alley pleaded no contest to unlawfully possessing a gun while attending the UNO seminar, a case handled in Douglas County District Court. But a conflicting account from ketv.com states that Alley instead changed his plea to guilty on one charge of attempted unlawful possession of a firearm on school grounds. KETV reports that sentencing on that charge is set for Jan. 5.
Alley was attending a class related to human trafficking and child exploitation when the incident occurred, the station's report notes. The session took place at UNO's Community Engagement Center, according to theclaycountynews.com, which adds that University of Nebraska Police investigators discovered Alley was carrying a loaded 9mm handgun in his pants pocket.
What Happened Inside the Classroom
Two female attendees left the room after observing his actions, per the same account from the Clay County outlet. A separate report from nebraska.tv, citing an arrest affidavit, said Alley touched himself inappropriately as graphic subject matter was presented during the class.
University police contacted Alley after the class ended. Investigators determined he was carrying the weapon despite the fact that his Nebraska law-enforcement certification was suspended, ketv.com reported.
Separate Lewd Conduct Charge Still Pending
Alley is also facing a misdemeanor charge of lewd conduct that he previously pleaded not guilty to, according to ketv.com. The outlet reports his next court hearing on that charge is scheduled for Nov. 24.
Court records cited by the Clay County outlet show Alley was initially charged with unlawful possession of a firearm at a school, a felony, and lewd conduct, a misdemeanor. He turned himself in to authorities on July 29 and entered a plea of not guilty at that time, per the same source.
A Police Chief's Quiet Exit More Than a Year Earlier
Alley had resigned as Harvard's police chief more than a year before the UNO incident. The Harvard City Council unanimously accepted his resignation during its May 27, 2025 meeting, theclaycountynews.com reported, and no public reason for the resignation was announced at the time.
Nebraska law makes clear why possessing a firearm on university grounds carries criminal exposure: a person who possesses a firearm in a school, on school grounds, in a school-owned vehicle, or at a school-sponsored activity or athletic event is guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm at a school, according to the Nebraska Legislature. UNO's own policy, published by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, similarly prohibits possession of deadly weapons on property controlled by the university, whether concealed or not, on a person or in a vehicle. The policy does carve out exceptions for employees specifically authorized to carry concealed weapons as part of their job and for law-enforcement members on official university visits.
