Fairfax County Police Watch: 06/23/11

Meriden CT police subject of 2 different excessive force suits involving officer who is police chief’s son [4] http://bit.ly/jmBvBa

Craven Co NC deputy arrested after investigation showed he lied about fatal 100mph patrol car accident [0] http://bit.ly/inmhYm

Albany NY settles suit for $250k to family of man killed in crash w/police cruiser that ran red light while responding to call [0] http://bit.ly/jZ6bO2

Knoxville TN police sued by 70yr-old woman who lost use of arm after mauled by police dog that got loose [0] http://bit.ly/mSR1kz

New Orleans LA cop accused by humane society probe of excessive force in fatal shooting of 3-legged pit bull [3] http://bit.ly/klOxyL

US Park police arrest 2 reporters in DC at public taxi commission meeting, one was arrested for taking pictures [3] http://bit.ly/jDA69a

South Burlington VT cop sued alleging he illegally searched woman for drugs 2x in 6mo, including a forced x-ray and a strip search in a public restroom [3] http://bit.ly/jZWSGc

2 Talbot Co GA deputies & a Talbotton GA cop arrested on unspecified charges in federal drug corruption probe [1] http://bit.ly/j3azKg

Hamtramck MI cop pleads guilty to informing motorcycle club that the FBI was investigating & wiretapping them [0] http://bit.ly/mhRUsY

Columbus OH police sgt charged w/felony & misd sexual imposition involving caretaker while he was on sick leave [1] http://bit.ly/lmQcrc

Harlandale TX ISD police officer fired after allegedly pulling gun during argument with man in a bar [1] http://bit.ly/k99fsG

4 Alton IL cops sued by man claiming they falsely arrested him, DA dismissed charges citing lack of probable cause [3] http://bit.ly/l7RLLm

Raleigh NC cop allegedly fired as part of probe into a number of officers accused of having sex w/prostitute [2] http://bit.ly/mjBrp4

Niagara Falls NY cop sentenced to probation, treatment & community service on domestic violence conviction [0] http://bit.ly/ms1b7g

Bartlesville OK police & police union sued by 2nd officer claiming harassment, discrimination & retaliation [3] http://bit.ly/kaPvZw

Philadelphia PA police institute reforms in settlement w/black cop’s assoc over racial internet comments by cops [0] http://bit.ly/joS89A

Albany Co NY settles suit for $85k to clerk claiming the sheriff did nothing to stop harassment by undersheriff [0] http://bit.ly/moWZ1Z

Smith Co TX deputy fired for unspecified reasons weeks after another deputy forced to resign after DUI arrest [2] http://bit.ly/inEk8H

Solon OH cop sentenced to $1000 fine, 3 days jail & 3 days treatment in plea to DUI charge for crashing into tree [0] http://bit.ly/jJHj03

A Hampton VA police drug raid on a 69yr-old man’s home based on an alleged informant’s tip accusing him of selling prescription pain pills is being questioned by neighbors & witnesses who appear to suggest police broke down his door without warning after several home invasions in the area which may have prompted the man to shoot before he was shot to death. [3] http://t.co/TfJRcGJ

An Orange County VA drug task force deputy has been charged w/indecent liberties w/a child under 15 & giving false reports to cops [2] http://bit.ly/jj649l

Hickman Co TN deputy pleads guilty to civil rights charges for taking nude pics of DV victims by telling them he needed them for his investigation when they were for his own personal gratification instead. [0] http://bit.ly/kCQTGU

A Scottsbluff NE cop resigned before arrested on 10 possession of child porn charges after images were found on his computer by a relative who was fixing it. [0] http://bit.ly/jbc7Rd

Rochester NY police are promising to review the arrest of a woman for videotaping police who were conducting a traffic stop in front of her home. [3] http://bit.ly/knU5hh

New York NY police are being sued by 2 men alleging that stickers on cabs that grant police the right to stop cabbies to ask if they are being robbed do not justify police to conduct invasive searches that they were subjected to just for riding in those cabs. [3] http://nyti.ms/jQKAWq

Madison Co KY deputy is being sued alleging he made up false charges against a man in order to illegally search his home. [3] http://bit.ly/jMpYdx

Myrtle Beach SC & Horry Co SC are being sued by a family claiming cops were negligent for arresting their teen son for crimes he didn’t commit based on descriptions he didn’t match. [3] http://bit.ly/jwWzAq

Caledonia WI cop resigned as part of a deal that dismissed charges against him for pointing a gun at a fellow officer while on duty [2] http://bit.ly/kuA87o

St Charles Parish LA sheriff’s lieutenant & his wife pled guilty to filing $800k in false tax returns by using IDs he stole from inmates in the parish jail. [0] http://bit.ly/ijpbNI

The 2nd of 17 Baltimore MD police officers who are charged with extortion involving a tow truck kickback corruption scandal has pled guilty to those charges. [0] http://bsun.md/kc8AtU

The Columbus GA Metro Airport police chief was arrested after witnesses reported seeing him break into a car at a movie theater parking lot. [1] http://bit.ly/m2YLl9

2 Easton NY cops were arrested on drunk & disorderly charges in an unspecified off duty incident at an out-of-town hotel [1] http://bit.ly/jjsmRQ

And finally, the Dallas TX police department is investigating to determine if any of their officers, and how many, may have urinated in a fellow officers police car and on his uniform. [0] dallasne.ws/l01BBA

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.