Fairfax County Police Watch: 03/09/12

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

•Mason Co WV sheriff resigns before pleading guilty to shooting at teen son, embezzlement and fraud charges [0] bit.ly/AjzNOj

•Cassia Co ID deputy will get clean record in plea deal for choking & gouging teen daughter’s boyfriend’s eyes [3] bit.ly/AojGF0

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”

•Natalia TX cop says he was fired to stop him from blowing whistle on cops who bragged about shooting 6 dogs to death[5] bit.ly/x4DCzF

“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”

Adams Co CO deputy cuffs and arrests 11yr-old girl for being rude when stopped in hall while getting sweater [0] on9news.tv/yJChtq

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

•Buffalo NY cop suspended after arrested on drunk driving charge by neighboring police dept [1] on.wgrz.com/za6tYo

•Fair Bluff NC cop gets probation in plea to reduced possession charge for breaking into pharmacy and stealing drugs [0] bit.ly/ytehx7

The officer Christian Chamberlain Award for “Fuck you, I’ll get away with it anyway” Fairfax County police . Police brutality

•RCMP mountie in BC facing assault charges for beating teen girl previously disciplined for firing gun while drunk [0] bit.ly/yW0QSD

•Superior WI police capt suspended & may face perjury charge for allegedly lying during cop’s disciplinary hearing [0] bit.ly/yxZozJ

•New York NY cop convicted for perjury & filing false charges in retrial for lying in drug/gun bust case [0] on.wsj.com/ysCZZv

•Stow OH cop sued by 90lb diabetic girl punched in the stomach then tasered 2x on ground at traffic stop [4] bit.ly/zSVO1G

•South Beloit IL records reveal city settled suit for $75k to woman choked by chief & tasered by police sgt [1] bit.ly/yeeTsd

•Los Angeles Co CA sheriff sued alleging a group of racist deputies involed in racially motivated attacks & abuses [3] lat.ms/xM6q2w

•Park Ridge IL cop who beat 2 teens gets charges dropped because prosecutors took too long investigating coverup [5] trib.in/wXy72W

•Syracuse NY may settle suit for $35k to man claiming cop used excessive force when he shoved his head into window [0] bit.ly/wPjFFB

•Newaygo Co MI to settle suit for $99k to family of woman killed by husband who wasn’t arrested for violating order [0] bit.ly/xcFnOx

•Port Allen LA cop indicted on battery & malfeasance charges for nearly choking man to death during traffic stop [0] bit.ly/w462SF

•Pittsburgh PA settles suit for $75k to teen beaten by cops who claim they mistook a soda bottle he had in his pocket for a gun. [1] bit.ly/xYaw6k

•Philadelphia PA cop subject of at least 6 suits alleging excessive force and false arrests in numerous incidents. [4] bit.ly/zxfK2V

•San Jose CA cop found liable for $11k in damages for excessive force on man stopped for missing bicycle headlight [0] bit.ly/wczmOo

•Baltimore MD cop suspended after gun used in child’s murder found in his car, suspected of covering for shooter [0] bsun.md/z18vym

•Fort Wayne IN cop sued alleging false arrest in case where cop ripped up charging papers at jail after arrest [3] http://bit.ly/xhtyBI

•Hancock Co IN deputy charged w/harassment, intimidation & official misconduct for 1000′s of threatening txts to ex [0] indy.st/zgKLl0

•Minnesota state commission refuses to let city fire police chief who bullies his higher ranking officers & is distrusted by officers [0] bit.ly/xzndWm

•Winnipeg MB cops accused of threatening & giving elderly motorist cellphone ticket when he didn’t even own one [3] bit.ly/AebAsK

•Fremont OH cop suspended while investigated for alleged workplace violence, abusive and intimidating behavior [0] bit.ly/wXykgg

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

•Richmond VA cop gets suspended sentence after pleading guilty to embezzling over $7k from cop legal aid group [0] bit.ly/z6WvCj

•Greene Co AR sheriff under investigation by state police after audit suggests misuse of donated funds in office [1] bit.ly/wIoO7p

•Harris Co TX deputy arrested on allegations he was paid off to keep cops away from illegal bar/gambling club [0] bit.ly/zSfufM

•Warwick GA arrested on shoplifting charge in neighboring city after allegedly removing tags from items in store [0] bit.ly/xB6Wk5

Fairfax County Police Officer Amanda Perry award for Safe Driving. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality

•2 Fargo ND cops sued by man claiming they falsely charged him w/DUI when he hit cop car parked in road in blizzard [4] bit.ly/w6CRsw

•Payette Co ID deputy charged w/vehicular manslaughter over on-duty crash that killed motorist [0] bit.ly/yEosjs

•Fort Bend Co TX deputy arrested for DUI & unlawfully carying weapon after stopped for running stop sign [0] bit.ly/zOGD9e

•Rapides Co LA deputy fired for causing crash in effort to stop girlfriend’s car during off-duty dispute [0] townta.lk/wnsHB7

•Milford CT finalizes settlement for $2.5mil to parents of teen killed in crash with on duty cop accused of drag racing another cop. [0] bit.ly/wdYH0j

•Chicago IL cop sentenced to 3 years in fatal hit & run DUI crash that left a 13yr-old dead and his fellow officers accused of an attempted cover up for delaying his alcohol tests. [3] bit.ly/whp2hQ

•East Rochester NY police sgt sentenced to 8mo for DUI, reckless driving & vehicular assault in crash that injured 3 [0] bit.ly/yBvvOw

Fairfax County Police Officer David Ziants award for kill somebody and the worst thing that happens to you is you get fired.

•New Orleans LA undercover cop under investigation after shooting unarmed man to death during drug raid [1] bit.ly/zQHSn0

•Los Angeles CA cop found guilty of 1st degree murder for killing her ex-boyfriend’s wife in 1986 [0] bit.ly/zMZHYV

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.