Fairfax County Police Watch: 09/26/11

Costs to the public this week in suits by your local idiots $4,600,000

Excessive force

Los Angeles Co CA sheriff’s dept is being investigated by the FBI over allegations of excessive force by deputies at county jail including one incident allegedly witnessed by an ACLU lawyer who claims a detainee was beaten into unconsciousness then beaten some more. [0] lat.ms/o4uslS

Vancouver BC cop is accused of using unnecessary force on actor DJ Qualls as he was trying to point out an assault suspect to officers after a bar fight he wasn’t involved with. The officer was accused of telling him “you think you’re fucking better than me?” during the incident where the actor wasn’t charged. [3] bit.ly/mT5Tcc

2 Bexar Co deputies sued alleging they physically abused then taunted 2 Las Vegas gaming executives after falsely accusing them of scalping. They were eventually released without charges after employees at the venue informed officers they were guests. [3] bit.ly/n8g83T

Shake down

El Paso Co CO sheriff agrees to stop questionable raids on businesses in an effort to collect outstanding fees. The collection of fees is normally a civil court process and the raids have been likened to a strong-arm collection tactic after officers were accused of taking cash from one business. [0] http://bit.ly/qEiZHE

Theft

Houston TX cop sentenced to 20yrs prison after pleading to stealing over $800k from police union over 7yr period [0] bit.ly/pUpuCD

Broward Co FL deputy arrested on grand theft & official misconduct charges for robbing undercover posing as dealer [0] bit.ly/n4LafH

New Paltz NY cop indicted on felony grand larceny & workers comp fraud charges involving over $50k [0] bit.ly/psx7Cz

Civil right violation

2 Pierce Co WA deputies found guilty of perjury for lying about entering a home without a warrant in order to seize a firearm. They claimed the man brought the gun out to them when they asked for it. [0] bit.ly/r8rHy2

Murder

Eureka CA jury awards $4.5mil to family of man who died after badly beaten by 2 cops then denied medical care [0] bit.ly/n7R1c0
Los Angeles Co CA monitor report finds 1/2 of people shot for “reaching for waistband” were unarmed, numbers rising [0] lat.ms/nNU0CC

Drugs/ Drunk

3 Houston TX cops apparently chatted on cruiser laptops about being high after eating arrested teen’s pot brownies [0] bit.ly/nQUH9C

Milwaukee WI cop sentenced to 2yrs after sting op caught him taking $1k to help transport 4lbs cocaine & drug money [0] bit.ly/nav9ji

Lying/Typical punk attitude

Austin TX cop suspended 90days, lied before video showed him being rude to resident who called about discarded hypo [0] bit.ly/ny2F4O

East Point GA cop fired & charged w/theft by taking, violation of oath & false statements on unspecified allegation [2] bit.ly/nNuNlS

Fabricated evidence

Charlotte-Mecklenburg NC police sued by man claiming cops fabricated evidence to falsely imprison him for 12yrs [0] bit.ly/qqS2Lm

2 New Orleans LA cops get probation/suspended sentences for roles in false arrest & false report, both resigned [0] bit.ly/pgOZzz

Witness retaliation

Hackensack NJ cop suspended w/o pay after charged w/witness retaliation, lying to investigators & hindering arrest [0] bit.ly/q9v2Hg

Once again, proof, they’re cops because Walmart isn’t hiring

Atlanta GA cop pulls gun on motorist when he mistakes man’s Toyota Camry for his Ford Explorer police SUV [0] bit.ly/nSvcjQ

Wrongful termination

Escondido CA settles suit for $20k to non-profit hired for FHA study but fired for criticism of police checkpoints [3] bit.ly/oDc0ho

Kids and cops…..strange, just strange

Albuquerque NM settles class action suit for a rumored $150k by 13yr-old arrested by school cop for minor outburst [3] bit.ly/qermCk

Child molestation

Salinas CA cop sentenced to 6 months jail after pleading no contest to molesting a 12yr-old Nepalese girl who, to compound insult to injury, was forced to attend counseling with the officer after the incident. [0] bit.ly/r9OiBc

Windermere FL police chief takes plea deal on 4 counts, dropping most serious charges for hindering child sex case [0] thesent.nl/nFx9yo

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Cops and women…strange, strange relationship

Central Michigan Univ MI cop charged w/official misconduct for talking drunk college students into exposing breasts [0] bit.ly/r5UhsH

Nashville TN cop arrested on agg assault charges for attempting to strangle girlfriend until her dog saved her [0] bit.ly/q3fWu8

Rape

Honolulu HI cop suspended while under investigation after accused of raping a mentally disabled shoplifting suspect [0] bit.ly/oiNN1S
Dalworthington Gardens TX cop arrested on allegations he sexually assaulted woman after arresting then helping her [0] http://bit.ly/oJvUdH

Excessive force against female protesters

Cowlitz Co WA deputies are accused in a lawsuit of encouraging the use of excessive force against female protesters by private security at a union strike/protest. The deputies are accused of fist bumping and cheering at the security officers when they removed the protesters, injuring some of the women. [3] bit.ly/ox4hrJ

Sexual assault

Dallas Co TX deputy constable was sentenced to 1year in jail for unauthorized use of a vehicle but only received probation for 2 sexual assault and 2 bribery charges, apparently because he’s ill. [0] bit.ly/qWv0TB
2 Bradenton FL cops subject of complaint by homeless man alleging they demanded ID w/o cause & threatened arrest [3] bit.ly/qxWvKv

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.