Fairfax County Police Watch: Lawsuit Filed After Cop Accidentally Shoots Man with Rifle

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Jen French) -- A mistake made by a Metro Police detective has triggered a civil suit against the city.

This week, a lawsuit was filed against the City of Nashville after a former Metro detective's rifle accidently fired and hit a man in the leg.

Court documents obtained by FOX 17 say former Detective Charles McEachron's AR-15 rifle was hanging in front of him while he and two other officers were holding Genaro Pascual to the ground outside of the Woodbridge Apartments on October 27, 2013.

Court records say while Pascual was bending his knees, the detective's rifle accidently discharged. Pascual was hit in the lower right leg. The rifle's safety wasn't turned on.

Neighbor Jackie Shamblin doesn't mind seeing the occasional patrol car in the apartment complex, but believes the detective should have had more control over his weapon.

"We need our police officers. Oh definitely," Shamblin said. ""I believe he's [Pascual] got every right to sue, you know?"

According to a Metro Police affidavit, that Sunday before 10:00 PM, officers responded to 330 Bridgeway Circle about a man firing shots in the air. Pascual matched the description of the shooter. Police found a silver semi-automatic pistol in his waist band. Officers say he resisted arrest.

"He [the detective] had his hands on Mr. Pasqual's arm, and he pulled Mr. Pasqual into him," attorney Bryan Moseley said.

Attorney Bryan Moseley told FOX 17 this is not a case of police brutality. It's a mistake made by police.

According to the civil suit, McEachron "did not position his AR-15 behind his back," and the rifle was "not secured."

"Something, whether it be a body part, clothing or some equipment likely hit the trigger," Moseley said.

Moseley said Pascual suffered serious injuries and has had several surgeries since the accidental shooting. State law permits him to claim up to $300,000.

After the accidental shooting, McEachron was suspended 30 days. A Metro Police spokesperson told FOX 17 he resigned. His last date of employment with the MNPD was on January 18, 2014.

The City of Nashville has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit.

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.