Fairfax County Police Watch: Idiots at work

Murder

2 Fullerton CA police officers have been charged for their roles in the beating death of Kelly Thomas in July of this year. The Orange County DA described the incident when laying out the charges against one officer for 2nd degree murder and involuntary manslaughter and another for involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force. Four other officers involved in the incident are still on paid leave pending the results of an internal and federal investigation.

Cops and Kids…a strange, strange relationship

Gurnee IL cop was sentenced to 6 years prison for molesting a 10-year-old girl and threatening his ex-wife’s boyfriend with a gun. The deal dropped molestation charges involving another child. [0] bit.ly/pbnFch

Sanger TX cop on leave after being arrested on witness tampering & solicitation of a minor charges. [1] bit.ly/nO8cQ4

Isle of Wight County VA deputy under investigation by state police on allegations he downloaded child porn [0] bit.ly/nOHiAJ

Assault

Des Moines IA poised to settle a lawsuit for $500k to a couple who were peppersprayed & beaten with batons by two cops during a traffic stop [0] bit.ly/pw1lyc

Louisville KY cop under investigation over a YouTube video showing him hitting a man in the head w/flashlight during an arrest [1] bit.ly/pmiDZE

Belleville IL cop arrested on battery charges for allegedly grabbing & throwing man who asked for his supervisor [0] bit.ly/nlZPAY

Ontario Provincial police are investigating officers after a judge rebuked cops for the 2nd time in two months over allegations of excessive force in two different cases. [2] bit.ly/pUm8IL

Columbia MO cop fired after caught on video shoving a detainee against a wall in a holding cell [0] bit.ly/qXWmZn

Silence the press and you can get away with anything

Milwaukee WI police sgt was caught on video harassing a news station’s photojournalist at the scene of a house fire before knocking him to the ground and arresting him. [3] bit.ly/olcUUa

We ain’t got no answer, there Judge

Oakland CA police ordered by judge in charge of Riders settlement agreement to explain recent misconduct issues ranging from a report alleging officers may be drawing their firearms too hastily to questions of accountability. [1] bit.ly/pPuggZ

Cops seem to hate women…I wonder why

Alorton IL Public Safety Director who is also a Fairmont IL cop was arrested for allegedly pulling over a woman while he was off duty and out of his jurisdiction in a police cruiser then demanding oral sex from her under threat of arrest. [0] bit.ly/nlZPAY

Shelby Co OH sheriff arrested on sexual battery charge involving allegations made by former female deputy [1] bit.ly/nmzp3J

Bunnell FL cop is the subject of a suit alleging he created a fake sex ad on Craigslist using dept computers in order to harass ex-wife’s friend. He resigned prior to any disciplinary action for that incident. [0] bit.ly/psYTuU

Sumter SC cop suspended w/o pay while under investigation for allegedly punching his estranged wife, who is also a cop, in the face. [0] bit.ly/qd6DPk

Today’s Weasel Report

Chicago IL cop was charged with felony perjury over her false statements in a road rage incident where she got into an argument with people in a funeral procession after weaving in and out of it while she was late going to work. She had one woman arrested and convicted for assaulting her but video emerged afterward that contradicted her account and led to the conviction being overturned. [0] http://t.co/1ByKLQ1Q

Yakima WA refuses to release details on 3 cops facing possible termination. Reliable sources apparently say one falsified info on a search warrant and two others for falsified expense reports. [3] bit.ly/nXrjfQ

Obstruction

17 New York NY cops may be indicted as a result of investigation into ticket fixing and other related allegations [0] nydn.us/q519eV

Theft

Prince George’s Co MD cop pleads guilty to federal charges related to cigarette smuggling scheme [0] wapo.st/okXrkK

Harris Co TX Precinct 6 constable is apparently under investigation over allegations of misconduct involving a charity he runs [3] http://bit.ly/qMEnPr

East St Louis IL cop arrested on allegations he accepted unemployment benefits when he was employed [0] bit.ly/o51uZk

Wathena KS police chief opts to retire to halt unspecified investigation after told he would face internal charges [4] bit.ly/pZg0WZ

Washington Park IL cop arrested for allegedly stealing bullet proof vests from his department [0] bit.ly/nlZPAY

Fairview Heights IL cop arrested for allegedly stealing a cell phone from a crime scene then using it as her own [0] bit.ly/nlZPAY

Excessive force

Pittsburgh PA police sued by professor claiming she suffered hearing damage from a sonic crowd control weapon that police used during the G20 protests there. [0] wapo.st/oZpHdI

St Cloud FL cop fired after arrested on allegations that she beat her boyfriend then kicked cop responding to call [0] thesent.nl/pPahqt

Horry Co SC officials ask state to investigate county police officials over various allegations of misconduct [3] bit.ly/mSgc8M

Punks

North Carolina Wildlife Resource officers accused inhumanely shooting man’s deer to death over lack of a proper permit [0] bit.ly/olk29I

Drugs/ Drunk

2 Colorado Springs CO cops accused of lying about drinking during bar sting after video contradicts testimony [3] bit.ly/qmMuWI

Lyons GA police chief arrested on allegations of marijuana distribution, violation of oath & theft by conversion [0] bit.ly/pBEut9

Morrogh finds cop he doesn’t love. In other news, hell freezes.

Probe of fatal police shooting goes to federal authorities

By Justin Jouvenal/Post

The Fairfax County prosecutor has turned over the investigation of a fatal police shooting of an unarmed Springfield man to federal authorities, citing complications with the five-month-old case.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh said the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia has agreed to continue the probe into the death of 46-year-old John Geer, who was shot during a standoff with Fairfax County police in August. No one has been charged in the incident.

“There is a conflict of interest that has arisen in the case,” Morrogh said Thursday. “And there is a second potential conflict of interest that has arisen out of my office. . . . This is the prudent thing to do.”

Morrogh declined to describe the nature of the conflicts because the investigation is ongoing. The U.S. attorney’s office said Thursday that it could not confirm or deny any investigation or comment on pending investigations.

Police went to Geer’s Pebble Brook Court home on Aug. 29 because of a report of a domestic disturbance. Geer’s father, Don Geer, said his son was upset because his girlfriend, the mother of his two children, had decided to leave him.

John Geer had thrown his girlfriend’s belongings in the front yard. She called police and told them that Geer had a firearm. Police said they tried for about 50 minutes to persuade Geer to leave the home, but he refused.

Don Geer said he watched the climax of the encounter. He said that he could not hear what officers were saying to his son but that he saw him standing with empty hands resting on top of a screen door at the home’s entrance.

At some point, John Geer began to slowly lower his hands and an officer opened fire, hitting Geer in the chest, his father said. Geer retreated inside and closed the door. A SWAT team eventually entered the home and found Geer dead.

Don Geer said detectives later told him that his son did not have a gun on him at the time of the shooting but that there was a holstered handgun a couple of steps from the front door.

Don Geer said it appeared to him that the shooting was unjustified, but he was unsure what to make of the probe being turned over to federal authorities.

“I don’t know whether that’s good or bad — if I had a better idea of why they are doing it, I could form an opinion,” he said.

Geer and friends of his son have been critical of how long the investigation has taken, but Morrogh said police and prosecutors were working to explore all the evidence. He did not think federal prosecutors would have to start from scratch.

“No one wants these things to linger on,” Morrogh said.

Our ink will outlast his career

Under the reign of former Chief of Police Rhorer the Fairfax County Police arrested a man for not wearing clothes in his house while he made coffee, set up an eye doctor on a gambling charge and then used the SWAT team to kill him. An investigation into the charge that the Doctor’s primary clients were cops has never been investigated. The police gunned down an emotionally unstable man because cop who shot him wrongly assumed the man was trying to escape. He wasn’t. The cops also shot dead four other citizens under highly questionable circumstances. The department under Rhorer was sued multiple times by citizens. So did they fire Rhorer? Naw they promoted him. According to news reports Rhorer draws a salary of $191,168 per year as Deputy Fairfax County Executive as well as a concurrent pension from the Fairfax County police of $173000 per year.

Occupation by force

According to the most recent U.S. Census figures, nearly one in five Fairfax residents (17.5 percent) is of Asian descent while Hispanics make up nearly 16 percent of Fairfax’s overall population. Those numbers drop considerably when applied to the Fairfax County Police Department, where only 4.3 percent of officers are Asian and 4.1 percent Hispanic. White officers make up 84 percent of Fairfax County’s 1,360-member police department, significantly higher than the county’s general population (54 percent white). Almost 90% of the force lives outside the county.