Fairfax County Police Watch: Editorial: Independent Police Auditor Marks History

Kudos to Board of Supervisors for unanimous approval of independent police auditor; now on to the Civilian Review Panel.

By Mary Kimm

#The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to create the position and office of independent police auditor on Tuesday, Sept. 20, creating the first civilian, independent oversight of law enforcement in Fairfax County. The unanimous vote demonstrated the board’s commitment to the ongoing process that began early in 2015 when Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova established the 32-member Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission.

#Police Chief Edwin Roessler expressed strong support for two keystone recommendations of the Ad Hoc Commission, the auditor and the Civilian Review Panel, next up for consideration and implementation by the Board of Supervisors.

#Many commission recommendations have already been approved, including the establishment of the Diversion First program providing treatment rather than jail for people in mental health crisis, development of an overriding use of force policy, and more transparency in police communications.

#Independent oversight and civilian participation in reviewing police use of force, officer-involved shootings and citizen complaints will play a vital role in maintaining Fairfax County Police Department’s reputation as being one of the very best law enforcement organizations in the nation.

#Some critics complain that the final language approving the auditor limits the independence of the office, but the auditor will be briefed on investigations contemporaneously, providing a window of oversight and sunshine not previously in place. There are more than 200 different civilian oversight structures around the country. While civilian oversight is a national best practice, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing recommends that every community have community oversight of police, with each community developing the model that is best locally.

#Public Safety Committee chair John Cook (R-Braddock) is tasked with shepherding major recommendations through the Board of Supervisors. He pointed out that the specifics of the approval for the auditor are not locked in stone; revisions after a period of experience would not be surprising.

#Recommendations by the Independent Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for the Fairfax County model included establishing the Independent Police Auditor and establishing a Civilian Review Panel to respond to community concerns or complaints about alleged incidents of abuse of authority by the FCPD.

#The panel as proposed would not conduct investigations and would not be involved in the disciplinary process for any officer, but would review select investigations after they are complete. The panel would also not overlap duties with the auditor.

#The panel could issue public reports, and meet with the auditor periodically, providing its views to the Board of Supervisors and the chief of police as to policy and practices changes that may be warranted. The panel could also hold periodic public forums around the county to gather information and suggestions about the FCPD, public perceptions and recommendations for policy and procedure, involving other police advisory committees and members of the Board of Supervisors as appropriate.

#Indications are that there will be some modifications to the proposal for the Civilian Review Panel over the coming weeks. It’s a good time for those with interest to tune in.

#The board’s Public Safety Committee will discuss the creation of a Civilian Review Panel at its next meeting, scheduled for Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.

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.