Fairfax County Police Watch: 09/07/11

Breaking and entering with intent

The US 10th Circuit Court ruled that cops cannot use minor traffic violations as an excuse to break into homes without a warrant in a case involving a Murray County OK deputy and 2 Sulphur OK cops being sued for allegedly doing just that in addition to beating a man in the head with a baton, pepperspraying a woman and her 14-year-old son, then dragging their other son out of the bathroom at gunpoint all over a minor traffic violation he didn’t stop for. [0] http://bit.ly/roN9IT

Assault

A Seattle WA police brutality lawsuit alleging a cop with a history of misconduct allegedly beat one man and tasered another then concocted a story about being assaulted even though he had no injuries illustrates the difficulties Seattle has in imposing discipline on cops even when there is a history of misconduct and how it results in more misconduct and legal bills for that city. [3] bit.ly/p0DsQS

2 RCMP mounties in Newfoundland are accused of kicking a woman who broke down kicking and screaming after hearing her son was murdered then calling her a slut before throwing her in the back of a cruiser on assaulting an officer charges. [3] http://t.co/oDLra67

2 Lubbock TX cops sued by deputy US Marshal alleging excessive force in struggle when they tried to enter his home. This one is questionable for a number of reasons, but since the plaintiff and defendants are all officers, it’s misconduct no matter which side is right. [0] bit.ly/r9gdE0

Pennsylvania state trooper convicted on misd assault charge over dispute that led to off-duty fight w/neighbor [0] bit.ly/r2x0tX

Raleigh NC is being sued by a man claiming a cop broke his leg and shattered his knee without cause then a judge jailed him for contempt because he couldn’t stand at court, then he was still denied medical care for several hours afterward. [3] bit.ly/qrgDVf

New York NY settles suit for $40k to woman claiming she went into premature labor after peppersprayed and tackled by cops at BBQ [0] bit.ly/nWn47u

2 Palatine IL cops sued by man alleging they broke his skull by slamming his head against a holding cell wall while was using the toilet. [3] bit.ly/ohNCY7

Theft/Obstruction

Philadelphia PA police will be facing planned lawsuits that will allege that the police have a pattern of destroying people’s cell phones and arresting them for videotaping the police in public while the practice of recording police was recently deemed legal in a 1st Circuit Court ruling. [4] bit.ly/oa2rKL

Obstruction

Pontiac MI police chief was under investigation for allegedly falsifying documents on pal’s breath test when fired [1] bit.ly/ovUHM5

Racial profiling

US Border Patrol station in Port Angeles WA is accused of racial profiling… likely related to other allegations that the station expansion is a waste of taxpayer money because agents have nothing else to do in the remote area, a claim made by an agent who now says he’s suffered retaliation for reporting that. [3] http://t.co/jaREPdn

Domestic violence

Arapahoe Co CO deputy arrested on domestic violence & menacing w/a gun charges in unspecified incident [1] bit.ly/ouT6aL

Volusia Co FL deputy suspended after arrested on domestic battery charge involving wife who suffered minor injuries [0] bit.ly/n0MIT5

Paden City WV police chief arrested on 3 misd domestic battery charges for allegedly shoving wife, father-in-law & mother-in-law which left her with a leg laceration [0] http://t.co/LeYjC36

Coral Gables FL cop arrested on unspecified charges in unspecified off-duty incident by unspecified agency [4] bit.ly/rbaofF

Creepy behavior

Evansville IN cop resigns in apparent deal to clear record after pulling woman over w/o cause & hitting on her [3] bit.ly/o9eBvR

Theft

Jacksonville FL police lieutenant sentenced to 1yr jail for stealing $51k from police charity group [0] bit.ly/rtDYbm

And the usual child molestation charges

Tacoma WA cop convicted on 4 counts 1st degree child molestation involving young female relative [0] bit.ly/nhpvGQ

Assault & sexual battery

Statesville NC cop charged w/misd assault & sexual battery for alleged improper searches of 2 women while on patrol [0] bit.ly/qL71bC

Politically motivated prosecutions

Maricopa Co AZ settles suit for $100k to retired judge subjected to politically motivated prosecutions by sheriff [0] bit.ly/pEpdar

Threatening

Hartsville SC cop fired & arrested after admitting to threatening the lives of a senator and his police chief [0] bit.ly/pWJ2ow

Mail fraud

Robbins IL cop hired after fired for felony mail fraud conviction now charged w/unlawful possession of gun by felon [0] bit.ly/qLtJ3o

Racial bias

Summit Co UT deputies accused of racial bias after jailing 8 black door-to-door salespeople but not white one [3] bit.ly/mWVJun

Narcotics/ Drunk

Alabama A&M Univ AL cop arrested on unlawful distribution of a controlled substance charge in unspecified case [1] bit.ly/n7fthe

Easton PA cop found guilty on 2 summary charges of public intox & disorderly conduct in off-duty fight w/fellow cop [0] bit.ly/pvDdFQ

San Diego Co CA sheriff’s detective arrested for DUI hit&run after hitting parked cars, a foot & a fountain [0] bit.ly/qtnygR

Orleans MA cop loses license for 45 days after pleading to drunk driving charges for crash that injured passenger [0] bit.ly/nXPLzW

Pinal Co AZ sheriff’s Lt reprimanded after repeatedly stopped by troopers, but not cited, for speeding on duty [1] bit.ly/oYhpLe

A Fairfax County cop, who will of course...unlike you and I, go namelessshot and killed a dog on Friday morning and neighbors are upset about the incident.

"Neighbors are really upset because it could happen to anybody’s dog," said Elsts, who has two dogs and lives two blocks away from where the incident occurred. "Even though the dog wandered the streets on a regular basis, it’s pretty scary that an officer would use a gun in the neighborhood."

http://www.newser.com/story/102003/police-shoot-family-dog-leave-note-on-door.html

Police were called to the 6200 block of Everglade Drive for a report of a loose dog, according to the county. Public Information Officer Lucy "Where's the outrage?" Caldwell, of the Fairfax County cop propaganda office, laid out in an email to Patch what the police say happened next which we won't print since its probably all crap anyway.

"The owner did make a mistake, however I think it’s wrong for an officer to go on to someone’s property and shoot their dog on their front steps," Elsts said. "Any witnesses would have been traumatized."
"What scares me is if an officer responds to a call at my house, are they going to use lethal weapons against my pets?"

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.