Fairfax County Police Watch: 01/21/14

Cop arrested on Staten Island after early morning accident

An NYPD police officer was awaiting arraignment Sunday night after being arrested for drunk driving and refusing to take a breathalyzer test. Leif Tjornhom, 28, a six-year veteran of the force, was the driver in a motor vehicle accident at Sanders Street and Forest Avenue in Graniteville, Staten Island shortly before 5 a.m. but refused to obey an order to take a breathalyzer and was placed into custody, said a police spokeswoman, who was not able to provide details about the crash. Attorney information for Tjornhom, who was suspended without pay, was unavailable.

Suspended police captain back at work in Cranston

CRANSTON, R.I. — Police Capt. Todd Patalano, accused of doctoring statistics regarding complaints of misconduct against police officers, has returned to duty after nearly two years on suspension.
He is back, even though he remains charged with misconduct himself by the Police Department.
Patalano was paid a salary throughout his leave of absence, raising eyebrows on the City Council. Council members say they want to know about the handling of his case by the administration of Mayor Allan W. Fung, and how much the case has cost taxpayers so far.
“He was absolutely thrilled to get back to work,” said his lawyer, Joseph F. Penza Jr. “Anyone who knows Captain Patalano knows that he is a workaholic. The last two years, he’s been dying to get back to work.”
Patalano’s return three days before the mayor put Police Chief Marco Palombo Jr. on an unexplained paid leave of absence is, for the time being at least, a reversal of fortune for the two policemen. It was Palombo who brought the charge against Patalano.
City payroll records show that while he was in exile, Patalano was paid $98,626 in 2012 and $99,368 in 2013.
Council President John E. Lanni Jr. said Friday that he is asking the Fung administration for a full accounting of what it has cost to pursue charges against Patalano and why the case has been handled the way it has.
Asked about that inquiry and Patalano’s reinstatement, Fung spokesman Carlos E. Lopez replied, “We are not at liberty to discuss any personnel matters that are pending.”
Patalano was recalled to duty on Jan. 6 and put in charge of the Training Division, one of six divisions in the Police Department, according to the number-two officer in the department, Maj. Robert W. Ryan.
The acting head of the department in Palombo’s absence is state police Capt. Kevin Barry. Another state police captain, Benjamin Barney, has been assigned to lead an investigation of a scandal involving the issuing of parking tickets in two wards, allegedly in retaliation for votes against a proposed police labor contract by the councilmen who represent those wards.
Patalano referred questions to Penza, who declined to say why his client has been reinstated although the charges are still lodged against him.
“We’ve been trying to get him back to work for a very, very long period of time,” Penza said. “There was an active effort to resolve the charges. … We were very close, but things have come to a screeching halt.” He declined to say more.
The case pertains to the investigation of complaints against police officers and related record-keeping.
An audit commissioned by Palombo in 2011 allegedly showed that some complaints were being put aside improperly without investigation and not publicly acknowledged. That allegedly allowed the department to pretend that there were fewer complaints than there were.
The activity in question mostly occurred when Stephen C. McGrath was police chief. McGrath said in 2011 that complaints were properly documented and that his administration acted professionally.
The Patalano case has been a cause of consternation among the department rank and file, according to Joseph J. Rodio, lawyer for the police labor union.
“It was ripping the department apart,” Rodio said. “Officers in the department don’t want to see anyone kept on hold” indefinitely.
Ryan declined to discuss Rodio’s comments or other aspects of Patalano’s status.
“It is a pending personnel matter covered by the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, so I cannot comment,” Ryan said Friday. The bill of rights statute constrains public comment by an agency that employs an officer charged with misconduct.
During the time of his alleged misconduct, Patalano was in command of the department’s Office of Professional Standards, the division responsible for policing the behavior of department members. To represent him, Patalano hired Penza, a man who had been his adversary when Patalano was pursuing errant officers.
“He was the most thorough internal affairs officer that I ever came across, and as straightforward as can be,” Penza said. “I always respected him when he was on the other side.”
Patalano went out on paid leave in February 2012, according to Penza. He had been in a trial-like hearing of the charges that continued for 14 sessions, until the hearing was recessed in late 2011 and mysteriously not resumed.
Even at that point, the prosecution had not rested its case, according to Penza. He declined to discuss the reason for the recess.
Under the bill of rights, an officer subject to discipline generally is entitled to a hearing by a three-member committee. The officer appoints one member, the chief appoints a member, and together they agree on a third, neutral member.
Patalano, who is in his 40s and is married with two young sons, has been on the police force for about 18 years.
“He is very well-respected in the law-enforcement arena,” Penza said. “People simply were aghast that any type of disciplinary action had even been contemplated against him.”
When the multipart hearing was convened at different sites, Penza said, people in law enforcement who happened to encounter him and Patalano jumped to the conclusion that Patalano was present as the neutral member of a bill-of-rights committee.
“They thought he was joking” when he said that he was the one under suspicion, Penza said.

Former Deputy Sheriff Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison on Child Exploitation Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office January 16, 2014

Southern District of Ohio (937) 225-2910

DAYTON, OH—Dustin Hensley, 30, of Springfield, Ohio, was sentenced to 300 months in prison for producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography. Hensley was a deputy sheriff in Clark County, Ohio, until he was arrested on the child exploitation charges.
Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly, Clark County Prosecutor D. Andrew Wilson; and members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black.
According to court documents, Hensley produced a sexually explicit video involving a minor earlier this year. He also distributed or attempted to distribute one or more visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and knowingly possessed images of child pornography. FBI agents and Clark County deputies arrested Hensley in July 2013. Hensley pleaded guilty on November 7, 2013, to one count each of production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
Hensley was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release, to be served following his prison term. During that time, he will be subject to various conditions, including restrictions and/or prohibitions of his computer usage, installation of monitoring software on any of his computers, prohibitions on his possession of obscenity in any form, participation in recommended treatment programs, and complete disclosure of any contact with minor children. If he violates one or more of the conditions of any supervised release imposed, he may be returned to prison for all or part of the term of supervised release.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requires that Hensley register as a sex offender following his prison term and keep his registration current anywhere that he lives, works, or goes to school. He must update his registration no later than three business days after any change of his residence, employment, or student status.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the FBI, Clark County Sheriff, Clark County Prosecutor, and the Franklin County ICAC, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla, who is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States, and Assistant Clark County Prosecutor Amy M. Smith, who is prosecuting Mr. Hensley on state charges.

Former Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Sentenced on Conspiracy and Bribery Charges

U.S. Department of Justice January 16, 2014

Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888

WASHINGTON—A former sergeant of the Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office (PSO) was sentenced to serve 15 months in prison today for accepting bribes in exchange for favors and referrals.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement.
Melvin Hike, 65, of Portsmouth, Virginia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen of the Eastern District of Virginia. Hike was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and to pay a $10,000 fine.
On October 8, 2013, Hike pleaded guilty to conspiracy and federal programs bribery. According to court documents, throughout the relevant time period of 2008 to 2012, Hike was a PSO sergeant assigned to the warrant squad. Ulysses Stephenson, aka “Tugger,” was a bail bondsman based in Portsmouth whose income depended on the number of arrestee clients he served. At various times between 2008 and 2012, Stephenson gave Hike cash payments and other items of value, and in exchange, Hike referred arrestees to Stephenson as prospective clients. Stephenson previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and federal programs bribery in connection with bribing Hike, and he was sentenced to 30 months in prison on November 2, 2012.
This case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Monique Abrishami and Peter Mason of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross of the Eastern District of Virginia.

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.