Fairfax County Police Watch: 12/12/11

The Officer David Scott Ziants Award for Citizen Motivation. Fairfax County Police

Bridgeport CT police accused of excessive force in videotaped incident that left woman’s hair on holding area floor [0] cour.at/vXe6rc

Owyhee Co ID complaints against sheriff prompts insurance company to drop coverage, the Attorney General is investigating incidents, including the latest in which a woman claims deputies used excessive force on her then the sheriff tried to pressure her into framing another deputy. [3] bit.ly/ugbm9V

Baton Rouge LA cop suspended 15days w/o pay for grabbing female motorcycle accident victim by the hair on video [0] bit.ly/tkIH9K

Officer Mohammed Oluwa Jihad on your ass award and why not? We’ll get away with it.

"Death to America!" "Crazy Moe" Oluwa

New Orleans LA cop convicted of obstruction & perjury for lying about Katrina shooting incident, other cop acquitted[0] abcn.ws/vGRvz2

Camden NJ cop convicted for planting evidence, illegal home searches, theft & perjury, other cop acquitted [0] on.cpsj.com/uKxaKF

Aurora CO settles suit for $215k to man left partially paralyzed in officer-involved shooting that violated policy [0] bit.ly/tgsLex

Creepy cop behavior

Benton Harbor MI cop charged w/criminal sexual conduct & delivery of marijuana on allegations he raped a woman under threat of arrest on drug charges. [0] bit.ly/uV7RgP

Hamilton OH cop resigns after arrested on public indecency & voyeurism charges, at least one witness claims the officer walked through a hotel parking lot half-naked before defecated in the lot, though this doesn’t explain where the voyeurism charges come from. [0] bit.ly/sMoyMy

El Cajon CA cop under investigation after a police volunteer alleged that he was sexually assaulted by the officer.. [1] bit.ly/rOiIqQ

The Officer Jeffrey Hand Award for Creative Income Production. Fairfax County Police

Little Rock AR & US Dept of Veteran Affairs police officers convicted of conspiracy to rob armored car employee [0] bit.ly/uTR8fC

Somerton AZ cop arrested on theft & fraud charges after investigation when alleged victim filed report [1] bit.ly/s4sF1k

San Diego CA police sergeant on leave while investigated for allegedly fixing tickets for DA employees [1] bit.ly/t98N6N

Portales NM police captain arrested on record tampering charge for shredding traffic tickets [0] bit.ly/vMtxrN

Slappin the old wife around. Fairfax County Police

Topeka KS cop suspended after arrested on domestic battery, reckless bodily harm & property damage charges [1] bit.ly/rG7GLk

Chicago IL cop ordered to pay $3,000 in jury award to man he shot at after date w/cop’s ex-girlfriend [0] bit.ly/uhyDrF

Run children! Run! Its your local police. Fairfax County Police

Pennsylvania state trooper sentenced to probation for texting nude video of self to undercover cop posing as a 13-year-old girl. [0] bit.ly/tyq8Hi

Lake Co CA deputy pleads guilty to felony unlawful intercourse w/child under 16, faced 18 counts involving 2 girls [1] bit.ly/tIsY1V

The officer Walter R. Fasci/ Sean McGlone award for sober living. Fairfax County Police.

Rutherford Co TN deputy demoted over incident w/ex where Murfreesboro cop extended courtesy by not arresting the officer for being drunk and disorderly. [0] on.dnj.com/ubrNj4

Miami-Dade FL investigate cop found passed-out drunk in his patrol car, wasn’t detained or booked into jail [0] bit.ly/tBmE13

New York NY cop suspended after arrested on DUI charge, stopped by good Samaritan while going wrong way on freeway [0] cbsloc.al/rsu62X

Detroit MI cop faces DUI & drug use charges for on-duty crash that left police cruiser in flames on highway median [0] bit.ly/vSZLJY

Milwaukee WI cop arrested on unspecified charges, alleged by sources to involve drunk driving [1] http://bit.ly/t5rzsq

Denville NJ cop pleads guilty to official misconduct for stealing drugs from dept evidence room, to get 3yrs prison [0] http://bit.ly/rGfkAL

Shinnston WV cop arrested on multiple charges for stealing money and drugs from evidence and people’s homes [0] bit.ly/tYxowK

This week’s candidates for the Brian Sonnenberg Peaceful Resolution to Conflict Center Award. Fairfax County Police

And don't forget to pick up a copy of Brian new book for Christmas!

Minneapolis MN settles suit for $1mil to mom of 2 left badly burned by flash-bang grenade by cops w/wrong warrant [0] bit.ly/uLXur8

Milwaukee WI cop charged with endangering safety by use of dangerous weapon after his gun discharged inside mall [0] bit.ly/uZq1Xu

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.