Fairfax County Police Watch: Fairfax Cops Block Geer Killing Investigations

By John Lovaas/Reston Impact Producer/Host

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/

#Finally some of the smoke is clearing. Sixteen months after unarmed John Geer was killed standing in his doorway by an unidentified Fairfax County Police officer we are getting an explanation of the wall of silence surrounding his death. In response to an inquiry by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney (prosecutor) Raymond Morrogh revealed why he failed to complete his investigation into Mr. Geer’s killing and took the unusual step of passing the case to the U.S. Attorney (U.S. Justice Dept.) a year ago. The Fairfax prosecutor typically works closely with police investigators looking into possible abuse or criminal acts by police officers. He depends on their detective work in deciding whether to recommend charges or empanel a grand jury (as in Ferguson, Mo. or New York City) to seek indictment. In the case of John Geer’s death, Mr. Morrogh told Senator Grassley that “the decision by the Chief of Police…to withhold requested materials effectively prevented me from completing the investigation and rendering a decision.” Morrogh said that Chief Roessler, who is appointed by and in theory accountable to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, was supported by County Attorney David Bobzien, also a subordinate of the Chairman and Board of Supervisors in refusing to hand over evidence. Furthermore, Roessler also refused to cooperate in providing evidence requested by the Justice Department. Finally, the Justice Department took the County and Police to court, and a judge ordered Fairfax County Police to provide the evidence sought. Only now, under court order, have the cops agreed to cooperate to some extent with the U.S. Attorney’s investigation. We shall see.

#What on earth is going on here? Why have we heard nothing from the people who the Police Chief works for—Fairfax Board Chairman Sharon Bulova and the nine silent District Supervisors? On Fairfax County’s organization chart, it is clear that the Police Department--just like the Departments of Community Services, Planning and Zoning, and Information Technology, for example—reports to, takes direction from and has its policies set by the Chairman and Board of Supervisors. Department chiefs can also be removed by the Board.

#Why have Bulova and the Board not directed FCPD to drop the shroud of secrecy so inappropriate in an open society, and to cooperate fully with the Commonwealth Attorney and Justice Department? Indeed, who is in charge?

#Perhaps Chairman Bulova and the Supes have not noticed the growing agitation here and around the USA about the lack of accountability of police forces often resembling military units. In view of the Geer killing and several others here under questionable circumstances—including Dr. Salvatore Culosi, Randal Leroy Collins, David Masters, Hailu Brooks—and FCPD’s 72-year history of no officer ever being charged, Fairfax County may be the impunity capitol of the country. Other jurisdictions the size of Fairfax County have created independent citizen oversight panels to assure transparency and open communication on matters of police abuse and use of lethal force. It is time this County did so as well. Tragically, Fairfax County’s lack of accountability encourages a small number of trigger-happy bad actors within the force to abuse their power, and lose for all the confidence of those they are supposed to protect.

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.