Fairfax County Police Watch: 06/13/11

idiots at work

4 Montreal QC cops investigated for shooting incident that left bystander & man cutting garbage bags w/knife dead [3] http://bit.ly/mK08sB

New Westminster BC cop gets conditional discharge after 1yr probation for assaulting newspaper carrier while drunk [0] http://bit.ly/mzctda

3 Dallas TX cops fired, 1 for using inappropriate force on handcuffed detainee & 2 for drunk driving charges [0] http://bit.ly/lBnTkS

Harrington DE cop sentenced to 90days jail in plea deal for 3 counts possession of child porn & official misconduct [0] http://bit.ly/m6wWI9

Windsor ON sued by son of woman killed in crash w/cop doing 120km/h to block road for ambulance carrying sick cop [0] http://bit.ly/mT8vLA

Toronto ON cop charged for allegedly hitting man & breaking his arm w/shield & baton for taking pics of cops at G20 [0] http://bit.ly/kPmiXI

4 Put-in-Bay OH cops sued by businessman claiming they beat & arrested him at home over an alleged noise complaint [3] http://bit.ly/ju6YnN

Tulsa OK cop convicted on 5 corruption charges including conspiracy to steal drugs & cash, 2 others acquitted [0] http://bit.ly/jjbUCb

Big Lake MN settles suit for $230k to 2 cops claiming they were demoted for cooperating w/investigation into chief [0] http://bit.ly/inBXJS

Seattle WA lost a lawsuit resulting in a $1 jury award to a man injured when tackled for jumping out of a cruiser’s way while detained but the suit may still cost the city thousands in legal fees [2] http://bit.ly/m7Q6CP

Roanoke VA settles suit for undisclosed sum in secret meeting to taxi driver arrested on false obstruction charges [3] http://bit.ly/jG2m4y

2 Houston TX cops disciplined for posing for pic w/bodyguards in front of pool of blood left by man they assaulted [0] exm.nr/lat5Ti

Woodridge IL cop subject of search after disappearing when charged w/stealing $30k from fallen officer fundraisers [0] http://bit.ly/ktX4wx

Akron OH cop faces felony theft charges on allegations he stole money from police explorers program for teens [0] http://bit.ly/mjaq2V

3rd Memphis TN cop pleads guilty to conspiracy & bribery charges, accepted cash to warn bar about investigations [0] http://bit.ly/l6gy1m

Duluth MN cop suspended 30days for lying on reports indicating he tested suspected drugs when he didn’t [0] http://bit.ly/lJ2mXq

Colorado Springs CO cop suspended after arrested for attempting to influence a public servant on allegations that she filed a false domestic violence report. [2] http://bit.ly/mNUBYB

Jennings MO police lt faces theft charges for stealing over $500 in federal grant money. That police department was disbanded in March due to several misconduct allegations against different officers. [0] http://bit.ly/iLK4AF

idiots at work

Baltimore MD cop convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a veteran 12x outside of a bar while drunk because he grabbed the butt of a woman he was there with. [0] http://bsun.md/kastDL

San Diego CA cop already charged for sexually assaulting 5 women will now face charges involving another 2 women he allegedly sexually assaulted, all while on duty. [0] http://bit.ly/ls1k9h

Wyandotte County KS & Kansas City KS police are being sued by a former police lieutenant claiming he suffered retaliation, harassment and defamation by his fellow officers after he refused to cover up a road rage beating incident by DEA agents that left a man severely injured. [5] http://bit.ly/kz88sE

An investigation found that an off-duty Annapolis MD cop was drunk and speeding before he crashed into another vehicle, killing one person last year… but he still hasn’t been charged over the incident. [1] http://bit.ly/kQ9PvT

A Clinton TN police officer was arrested on an aggravated statutory rape charge involving a 17yr-old girl. He resigned last month over the allegations. [0] http://bit.ly/lzJzmW

A Lakeland FL police internal affairs sergeant has been suspended for 1 month w/o pay for interfering with an investigation into his friend, a fellow officer who was eventually convicted for stalking his ex-wife. [0] http://bit.ly/mLBRto

The Niagara Frontier Transportion Authority officer in NY who is seen in the above video has been suspended for 2 days for cursing at & threatening the man who was taking that video of him last year. [0] http://bit.ly/kVLV1m

Toronto ON investigation recommends docking 8hr pay from cop who bullied a reporter at another cop’s trial, but the department doesn’t have to follow that recommendation. [2] http://bit.ly/mK16nm

Brooksville FL cop charged w/battery after fired for grabbing inmate by neck in attempt to forcibly kiss her [0] http://bit.ly/lWpukj

Mentor OH police sued by man who missed son’s funeral while jailed & extradited to CA for an alleged parole violation… when he wasn’t even on parole. [3] http://bit.ly/k4lPx3

Escambia Co FL deputy & his wife arrested on allegations they stole $8k in tools & equipment from elderly couple [0] http://bit.ly/iV2J43

Shreveport LA cop resigns after arrested on insurance fraud charges, allegedly torched car & reported it stolen [0] http://bit.ly/mUyzt4

Vancouver WA police forced by review board to rehire cop fired for lying about affair fellow cop had w/informant [0] http://bit.ly/lopktL

Pulaski Co IL deputy arrested on 20 counts of obstruction, official misconduct & supplying guns to a felon, that felon being her husband. [0] http://bit.ly/iiAUJa

Fort Collins CO cop charged w/careless driving after hitting bicyclist with patrol car while responding to call [0] http://bit.ly/kNLE13

Tulare CA cop sentenced to 8 days jail after pleading no contest to 3x BAC DUI, crashed patrol car into fence [0] http://bit.ly/jGGT5x

St Louis County MO police officer resigns after arrested on drunk driving & unlawful use of weapon charges [0] http://bit.ly/mt78AX

2 Las Vegas NV cops suspended 1wk w/o pay for on-duty joy ride in cruiser after stopped for speeding in AZ [0] http://bit.ly/jGegs9

2 Floyd County GA deputies have resigned & 2 others suspended for 3 days in a strange plot where they went to a party where they got an inmate’s girlfriend, who was on probation, drunk then took embarrassing photos of her in order to humiliate that inmate by showing them to him. The nature of those photos hasn’t been released. [0] http://bit.ly/jZ4TTg

Hamilton ON cop already in trouble for allegedly stealing patio stones is now facing charges for allegedly having sex in public [0] http://bit.ly/lMg5UK

idiots at work

An Orlando FL police officer is accused by several witnesses of shooting a man in the back as he fled from a drug sting and it appears as though he may have been unarmed as well. [3] http://bit.ly/kdzeWj

An Elyria OH police officer has been charged with misdemeanor assault after he was suspended for 5 days for punching a DUI suspect who was handcuffed to a hospital bed. [0] http://bit.ly/irVLm5

An Elmore OH police officer took advantage of a plea deal involving charges for sexting and exchanging nude pics with a 14yr-old girl. No word on what sentence he’ll receive yet. Apparently the girl’s father gave him a second chance by telling him not to do it anymore but the officer kept having chat sessions with her anyway. [1] http://bit.ly/mT6nJx

A Gaffney SC cop resigned after charged with a felony DUI for hitting a utility pole while off duty which resulted in an 18yr-old being injured. [0] http://bit.ly/k0gRcw

A Norfolk VA police officer was arrested on 11 charges including sales of steroids or stimulants and distribution of marijuana [0] http://bit.ly/jmdtTp

An Elwood KS police officer was fired while he’s the subject of an unspecified criminal investigation by state bureau of investigation [2] http://bit.ly/kucyw7

A Smith County TX deputy was suspended after arrested for drunk driving when he was found passed out in an SUV at an intersection [0] http://bit.ly/m7VoNJ

And finally, the Bandara TX police department is being accused of corruption involving documented problems with evidence handling by a cop who is suing for discrimination after he was disciplined for leaving evidence in his police car. [0] http://bit.ly/jvIl5s

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.