Fairfax County Police Watch: Atlanta police investigate allegation of misconduct at Blake's

by Dyana Bagby

The Atlanta Police Department is conducting an official investigation into allegations of police misconduct during the arrest of two men at Blake's on the Park. Management of the popular Midtown gay bar, however, is praising the APD's handling of the incident.

APD Deputy Chief Renee Propes, who is openly gay, said during Monday's Atlanta Police LGBT Advisory Board meeting that an Office of Professional Standard investigation was opened this week after an allegation a police officer ordered a patron at the popular Midtown gay bar to delete video off his cellphone during the arrest of two unruly patrons.

The alleged misconduct occurred late Friday, Jan. 20, when APD was called to the bar for backup after a fight broke out, including one of the patrons arrested allegedly throwing a drink in the face of an off-duty officer working security and then allegedly knocking his glasses off his face. The patron also allegedly punched Blake's manager Doug Edmisten in the head.

The lone allegation of misconduct is made by an anonymous male. The APD contacted him to ask about the allegations he made and he has yet to make an official statement with OPS and is asking to remain anonymous, according to Propes and the city's law department. At least seven other witnesses gave statements to the APD the night of the incident and none said any misconduct occurred, according to Major Chris Leighty, commander of Zone 5 that includes Blake's.

The manager and senior bartender at Blake's disputed the claims made by the individual and said the APD acted professionally and with respect toward its customers after two customers became "belligerent" and a "scuffle" broke out between them and employees of the bar including an off-duty officer. Lynn Barfield, known as "Mama Lynn" to many of Blake's customers and a 2011 Atlanta Pride Grand Marshal, also said there was no misconduct by the APD.

Edmisten described what happened Friday night and said there were two "belligerent" customers who he asked to leave the bar. When they refused, Edmisten asked for assistance from the off-duty officer who also asked the men to leave.

Edmisten said at that point one of the two patrons threw a drink in the off-duty officer's face and attempted to hit him and then punched Edmisten in the head.

As Edmisten and the off-duty officer were escorting the men out the back door and into the parking lot, one of the patrons started fighting with the off-duty officer. The patron was handcuffed and APD backup was called, Edmisten said.

By the time the backup officers arrived, the two patrons were outside in the parking lot. At no time did the backup officers enter the bar, he said.

The first responding officer then handcuffed the second patron.

"I did not hear an officer at any time to ask anyone to stop videotaping the incident," Edmisten said. "The backup APD did not call anyone names such as 'princess' as stated in the media as I had moved everyone back into the bar.

"The backup APD arrived quickly and were totally professional. I think this is an embarrassment for anyone to try to link this incident to the Atlanta Eagle," he said.

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.