Fairfax County Police Watch: Cop arrested for theft

Rob Ireland

ELKHORN — A former Bloomfield and Genoa City police officer was arrested on April 16 after he was filmed allegedly stealing cash from the Genoa City Police Department.

Aaron E. Henson, 36, was arrested on charges of theft and misconduct in public office. Henson is a five-year veteran of the village of Bloomfield Police Department, and he also worked part time in the village of Genoa City.

Walworth County District Attorney Daniel Necci said Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel has accepted a request to be a special prosecutor on the case.

On April 29, Henson was formally charged with felony misconduct in public office and misdemeanor theft. The felony charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 3 1/2 years and a $10,000 fine.

Necci said that future court proceedings will occur in Walworth County. Henson was booked into the Walworth County jail on March 16 at 6:49 p.m., and he was released on a signature bond the next day at 2:25 p.m.

Henson was arrested after police raided his home as part of the theft investigation.

According to online court records, defense attorney Frank Lettenberger is representing Henson. On Thursday morning, Lettenberger said he can't comment on the case at this time.

Betrayal

Genoa City Police Chief Joseph Balog said he felt betrayed by the theft.

"When I briefed my personnel, I would equate this to telling them that there was a death in the department," Balog said on Thursday morning.

Balog also emphasized that he acted quickly when he learned of the theft, and that Henson was not given special treatment because he is a police officer.

"Even when someone in our own department does something they are held accountable," Balog said. He said acting quickly is necessary to ensure that the public can trust law enforcement.

Balog said that the investigation was turned over to the sheriff's department after he learned that one of his officers became the subject of the investigation.

Walworth County Sheriff's Capt. Dana Nigbor said the investigation was turned over to her department, but it was nearly completed by the time she received it.

"We are not looking into any other thefts," Nigbor said. "The chief assured me that all the other bonds were accounted for."

When asked if Henson received different treatment, Nigbor responded that he didn't.

"Absolutely not. He was treated exactly the same," Nigbor said.

Fallout

Necci said his office is reviewing the cases that Henson handled prior to his arrest.

"I don't know how big the fallout will be, but there will be fallout," Necci said. "There will be cases that have to be dismissed because of this. I don't know how many, but I know that will happen."

Necci said Henson's arrest will affect his credibility as a witness in some cases.

"Credibility is always at issue with a witness. Despite the fact that he is an officer he is a witness," Necci said. "If these (allegations) were allowed in at trial, which I tend to think they would be, that would affect his credibility greatly."

In the village of Bloomfield, Henson recently arrested a man for fourth-offense drunken driving, and he referred charges to the District Attorney's Office against the man for attempting to bribe a public official.

In that case, Henson's report included that the man he arrested offered him a $1,000 to let him go. Henson reported that he declined the bribe. So far, the District Attorney's Office has only filed the drunken driving charges against the man.

The defendant in that case is represented by defense attorney Peter Wilson. On Thursday morning, Wilson said he isn't sure what effect, if any, Henson's arrest will have on his client's case.

"It would appear that the two incidents are unrelated," he said. "It obviously goes to the officer's character, but the officer's character is not an element of the offense that my client is charged with."

Wilson added that Henson and his client are both presumed innocent.

Investigation

According to the search warrant affidavit, on April 7, Balog was contacted by his administrative assistant, who reported to him that there was money missing from the bond box.

After the money went missing, on April 11, the assistant photographed and recorded the serial numbers of $230 in cash, which she then placed into the bond box.

On April 14, the assistant discovered that the $230 of pre-recorded cash and $1,728.30 in other bond envelopes went missing.

Later that day, Balog photographed and recorded the serial numbers to another $400 and installed a video camera near the bond box.

The next day, the money went missing. Balog reviewed the video surveillance footage and saw Henson use a fly swatter to remove the bond envelopes from the locked bond box, according to the affidavit.

"(Balog) observed Henson remove the envelopes that contained the money and walk out of view of the camera," the affidavit states.

A search warrant for Henson's home was obtained and executed the next day. Balog has since turned the investigation over to the Walworth County Sheriff's Department.

At his first court appearance, Henson was ordered not to have any contact with the village of Genoa City Police Department, the Genoa City Village Hall, the Bloomfield Village Hall or any of the employees of either department.

According to online court records, Henson is next scheduled to appear in court on May 1 at 1:15 p.m. in front of Judge David Reddy.

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.