Fairfax County Police Watch: Th epidemic of mentally unstable cops in America

Hattiesburg cop, sentenced in attempted murder-for-hire plot, cuts his throat at prison

Suspended SC officer gets in standoff with cops, then sent to psychiatric

Former Wytheville officer charged in South Carolina

Cottageville officer charged with arson

Hattiesburg cop, sentenced in attempted murder-for-hire plot, cuts his throat at prison

COLUMBIA, Mississippi (AP) — A former Hattiesburg policeman cut his throat outside the prison where he was taken to serve a 60-year sentence for paying a former cellmate to kill his wife and stepdaughter, Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison says .

Averal Dan Burnett Jr. is hospitalized and expected to live, Allison told The Hattiesburg American.

Burnett was sentenced Friday to 30 years each on two counts of attempted capital murder. Prosecutors said he was trying to keep his wife and step-daughter from testifying in a Lamar County case accusing him of sexual crimes.

A Pearl River County jury convicted him in December.

Guards had left the transport van outside the Central Mississippi Regional Correctional Facility in Rankin to secure their weapons before they brought Burnett into the prison, Allison said.

“When they came back, he was slumped over with blood on him, and when they asked him what had happened and what was wrong with him, he said he had cut his throat with a razor blade,” the sheriff said.

He said Burnett apparently had kept the razor blade he shaved with in his mouth all day.

“He was searched and given a new set of clothes, so we’re just assuming that when he showered and shaved, he put that blade in the gum of his mouth and had it there the whole time,” Allison said.

Burnett had spent most of his 22 years in law enforcement with the Hattiesburg Police Department. He was working for the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office when he retired in May after less than a year’s service.

He was indicted on four counts of fondling, two of sexual battery and one of attempted sexual battery

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Want to change the murderous arrogance and indifference of the Fairfax County Police? Then fire the people who hire the cops and watch how quickly things change. Start with tossing Gerry Hyland out of office. He basically works for the cop’s best interest and not yours.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.

Suspended SC officer gets in standoff with cops, then sent to psychiatric

SUMMERVILLE, SC - A Charleston police officer is in a psychiatric hospital after a 90 minute stand-off with Summerville police -- just days after he was suspended.

It's the latest development in the case of Officer John Chittwood, who was involved in a fight with a woman about a toy gun at a park on Sunday.

Chittwood was suspended after the park incident in which SLED became involved.

An incident happened this week in which there was a standoff at Chittwood's home for at least 90 minutes.

WCBD-TV obtained a 911 call, which is 11 1/2 minutes and begins calm but quickly escalates.

During the call, John Chittwood's wife told dispatchers her husband was running down the street in front of their Wilson Drive home in Summerville.

Moments later, he broke into a window to get back into the house, according to the 911 call. His wife warns the dispatcher there are guns in the house and two small children.

His wife and children were able to get out of house and run to neighbors before police arrived.

According to police reports, the terrorizing scene was the second call to police Tuesday.

When police arrived, they used their PA to call him out of the home. They could see him in the kitchen window, but he wouldn't come out of the house.

After an hour and a half standoff with police, Chittwood went into back yard where police told WCBD it was hard for them to monitor him. Police say he finally opened the gate, and he came to front yard.

When police cuffed him, he was wearing a skateboard helmet, shorts, cowboy boots, a City of Charleston police uniform shirt.

In his pockets they found his cell phone, candy corn, bank cards, nails, a stethoscope, papers, an exacto knife, and what they reported as “other odd items”.

Instead of arresting Chittwood, a judge issued a commitment order, and he was escorted to Palmetto Behavior Psychiatric Hospital

Inside the home police reported finding broken picture frames, shards of glass, a rear door barricaded with firewood, a vacuum, and other items, and an orange liquid smeared above another rear door. The liquid appeared to amoxicillin.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.

Former Wytheville officer charged in South Carolina

Former Wytheville officer charged in South Carolina By MILLIE ROTHROCK

A former Wytheville police officer has been arrested in Horry County, South Carolina, after leading a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper on a high-speed chase, police said.

Bradley Everett Boggs, 39, turned himself in Wednesday and was charged with reckless driving and failure to stop for a blue light, said Cpl. Sonny Collins with the SCHP.

According to Collins, Boggs’ ordeal began Monday night when a trooper spotted him speeding in excess of 80 mph on U.S. Hwy 17 south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The trooper pursued Boggs and attempted to pull him over when Boggs led him through a residential neighborhood at high speeds. Eventually, Boggs stopped his vehicle, jumped out and started running, Collins said.

“Mr. Boggs actually jumped into a pond and swam across to the other side,” Collins said, adding that the trooper did not follow him, but identified Boggs through his vehicle.

Boggs’ bond was set at $5,445. He was released within an hour of turning himself in, according to the Horry County Sheriff’s Office.

Boggs served as a police officer with the Wytheville Police Department from July 30, 2003, to March 23, 2010, according to Wytheville Police Chief Rick Arnold. Horry County Public Information Officer Lisa Bourcier said Boggs was a patrol officer with the Horry County Police Department from May 10, 2010, until Wednesday, the day of his arrest.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.

Cottageville officer charged with arson

By GEORGE SALSBERRY

A member of the Cottageville Police Department appeared in General Sessions Court earlier this week to face two counts of third-degree arson stemming from a pair of arson fires set six years ago.

Travis Balkom, 22, of Cottageville Highway in Cottageville was indicted on the charges by a Colleton County Grand Jury in late November and ordered to appear in General Sessions Court on Jan. 20.

When Balkom appeared in court, his bond was set at $25,000 and he was released after going through the booking process at the Colleton County Detention Center.

Balkom was charged as an adult for the two fires that occurred early in 2009, when he was 16 years old.

He is charged with allegedly setting fire to a vacant trailer at 1681 Wesley Chapel Avenue in Cottageville on Feb. 17, 2009, and allegedly setting fire to a residence that had been abandoned for approximately 20 years that was located at 1 Sawmill Road in Round O on March 17, 2009.

Balkom was appointed to the Cottageville Police Department in November. Cottageville Police Chief Charles Long reportedly told another media outlet that Balkom will remain a member of the police department as the charges against him proceed.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE COPS, NOT ENCOURAGE THEIR AWFUL BEHAVIOR

Boycott the following companies for hosting the Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games

Apple Federal Credit Union,

LMI,

Noblis,

B.F. Saul Company,

Galls LLC,

Sage Communications,

Macerich,

Glory Days Grill,

Reston Limousine,

City of Fairfax, Karin’s Florist,

NOVA Media Services,

Clyde’s Restaurant Group,

Level3 Communications,

Verizon

Globe, Dewberry,

IMC, ESPN 980,

Serco,

Loudoun County,

Grant Thornton,

Prince William Convention and Visitors Bureau and

Booz Allen Hamilton.

Bottom line, if politicians don’t fear that you can harm their careers, then you don’t exist. They don’t see you, they don’t hear you. You don’t matter.

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.