Fairfax County Police Watch: 05/25/11

An Effingham County GA deputy was caught on dashcam hitting a cooperative man with a running punch then choking him during a traffic stop where he was being cooperative. [3] http://bit.ly/ld3yhs

3 Colorado State troopers sued by family of man fatally shot by trooper when he wouldn’t let them in w/o warrant [3] http://bit.ly/mQHEuR

Baltimore MD loses suit for $95k to man claiming 2 cops assaulted & jailed him for 10hrs without any charges [0] http://bsun.md/iWsH2x

3 Hamilton ON cops subject of judge’s rebuke after awarding $46k to man wrongfully arrested at gunpoint [3] http://bit.ly/jrwuqx

New York NY (Bronx) police sued by man claiming cop stopped him for drinking Snapple & jailed him for talking back [3] http://nydn.us/kHzCZR

New York State trooper charged w/leaving scene of fatal accident after running over man laying in street off-duty [0] http://bit.ly/lytddH

Pittsburgh PA & Harrisburgh PA cop reach secret settlement deal w/man who’s leg was broken by baton at G20 protests [3] http://bit.ly/lCVbZH

Boston MA MBTA police K9 officer sentenced to 18mo jail on felony animal cruelty charge for starving his dog to death [0] http://bit.ly/lYJ1bj

Harvey IL cop arrested on aggravated assault & other charges for ramming his girlfriend’s car while her two children were also inside after she broke up with him [0] http://bit.ly/mJb0OF

Shelby NC police officer arrested for assault on a handicapped person in an unspecified incident that’s under investigation. [1] http://bit.ly/mp1jf9

Slaton TX cop resigned before charged w/federal possession of child porn charges after feds search his work & home [0] http://bit.ly/kDfpBL

Atlanta GA cop gets reprimand for ordering woman to be quiet in IHOP where he was working off duty as security in an incident which escalated to him punching her on camera. [1] http://bit.ly/liAiBb

White Mountain Apache Tribe cop in Arizona charged w/civil rights violations for driving two men to a remote location and abandoning them in dangerously cold weather. [0] http://bit.ly/j7D8Lw

Bandera Co TX settles whistleblower suit for $270k to deputy fired for reporting misconduct that cost sheriff’s job [5] http://bit.ly/iUk5dA

Maricopa Co AZ deputy & 2 jail guards subject of warrants for alleged involvement in human & drug smuggling [1] http://bit.ly/lkYjes

Andalusia AL cop pleads to drug distribution charge after caught in sting escorting dealers & trading drugs for sex [0] http://bit.ly/kYy6gc

Baton Rouge LA cop pleads no contest to bribery & corrupt influence charges after soliciting money from inmate [0] http://bit.ly/kCIgua

Univ of Tennessee police officer among 50 named in drug probe indictments, charged w/sale & delivery of hydrocodone [0] http://bit.ly/lZKn4N

Farmington NH police detective sentenced to 4mo jail (1yr-9mo suspended) for stealing almost $4,000 from evidence [0] http://bit.ly/kBgO7T

Passaic NJ police capt named police chief despite 2 misconduct investigations & $500k sex harassment settlement [0] http://bit.ly/j3wjn4

Watertown MA cop fired for failing to deliver restraining order now charged w/impeding federal drug investigation [0] http://bit.ly/mr8ZCx

Denver CO police sgt arrested on drunk driving charges after accident, was cited for DUI before by case dropped [0] http://bit.ly/igHoD6

Lee Co SC deputy suspended while investigated for taking patrol car outside county, spotted parked at night club [0] http://bit.ly/lDySwa

3 Seattle WA cops suspended 10-20days for using vulgar language while arresting suspected gang members. The abusive language and threats were captured on dashcam and included one officer saying “I’m going to skull fuck you and drag you down the street.” [0] http://bit.ly/iI7coH

Las Vegas NV settles suit for $1mil to family of mentally ill man who died after choke hold used to restrain him [0] http://bit.ly/l32icm

Sûreté du Québec cop suspected of shooting fellow officer before taking his own life in possible domestic dispute [0] http://bit.ly/kJUa1V

Alameda Co CA deputy sentenced to 1yr w/credit for 199 days in plea deal for molesting 3 children under age of 10 [0] http://bit.ly/mR07rR

New York NY police sued by teen alleging cops wrongfully charged & prosecuted him while ignoring other’s confession [0] http://bit.ly/md37vj

Los Angeles Co CA settles suit for $4.75mil to man injured in crash w/drunk deputy still on job after 6 months of home detention. [0] http://bit.ly/mk8w6q

Saratoga Co NY deputy suspended w/o pay after arrested on misd menacing & child endangerment charges [1] http://bit.ly/kOuPns

Marion Co IN deputy arrested on battery charge after unspecified family member claims he attacked her [1] http://bit.ly/m0SBOm

Walla Walla County WA deputy arrested on domestic violence charge in unspecified incident [1] http://bit.ly/jKcxjW

Shelton CT cop fired after receiving rehab plea deal for extorting cash from duaghter’s friend over stolen iPod [0] http://bit.ly/mEDMBs

Ft Myers FL cop fired for leaving jurisdiction on at least 37 occasions and lying about it to dispatchers [0] http://bit.ly/jABPng

Saginaw MI settles suit for $700k to police officer claiming he was sexually harassed by female supervisor [0] http://bit.ly/iH2Mvx

The occupation force that is the Fairfax County Police, over 75% of the force live outside the county that pays them, very, very well, stopped 696 cars and questioned between 700 and 1200 citizens at a “sobriety checkpoint” on Saturday, May 21 near Franconia. They made no arrests in the three hours they were harassing citizens. 18 cops were involved and cost the taxpayers just over $2,000.00

The purpose of these checkpoints is to raise cash for the county thereby avoiding police oversight and allowing the chief of police to hold on to his job for another year.

Once again, we need to police the police, who are, once again, out of control and living off the backs of the people of Fairfax County. We need a law that restricts the inspections strictly to their intended purpose and let the chief figure out another way not to get fired.

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.