Fairfax County Police Watch: 02/02/17

Great Falls — A group in Great Falls raised over $5,000 for the organization Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) that supports the families of officers who have been killed on the job.

#For the last eight years, Bob Nelson, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Great Falls, has been organizing Military Appreciation Monday. The monthly fundraisers benefit military support organizations and groups. This latest fundraising effort was part of his new Law Appreciation Wednesday events, which will raise money for police officer support organizations and groups.

#Brix American Bistro on Seneca Road hosted the dinner on Wednesday, Jan. 25. As the host, the restaurant donates a portion of the evening’s sales during the event’s seatings. Raffle tickets are also sold for donated items.

#“One of the hardest jobs is being a cop,” says Ashwani Ahluwalia, the restaurant’s owner. “They put their lives on the line … big sacrifice.”

#The seating for the service was full. As people ate, an officer who patrols Great Falls spoke to the crowd.

#“I’m very proud to represent FCPD and the Reston Station in thanking this group for their support,” says 2nd Lt. Anthony Lampe of the FCPD’s Reston District Station. “Whenever a brush with life comes close, support means that much more.”

#Officer Lampe was referring to the shooting of one of his colleague’s marked police cars just three days before on Sunday, Jan. 22. The car was struck several times by gunfire in Great Falls, but fortunately the officer was not hit.

#This is the second of Nelson’s Law Appreciation Wednesday events. In December, the group raised $4,000 for HEROES, Inc. The organization assists the families of police officers within the D.C. region who have been killed on duty.

#“The hardest part about organizing this is finding groups that support cops,” Nelson says.

After policy set, Fairfax Co. police to test body-worn cameras

By Dick Uliano

FAIRFAX, Va. — Fairfax County police are expected to begin testing body-worn cameras later this year, after the police department completes — and the Board of Supervisors approves — a set of guidelines governing the use of the cameras.

Policy must still be nailed down on issues including how best to protect privacy; when cameras are to be turned on and off; when it’s appropriate to redact video and how long video should be retained.

“The goal is to start the pilot project as soon as possible. Whether that is July or sometime after Labor Day will depend on the work ahead,” said Chief Edwin Roessler with Fairfax County police.

The Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee has set a mid-June deadline for final submission of body-worn camera policy. Once the policy is in place, police will conduct a pilot program with the cameras for 90 days or more.

“My intent is to have two vendors for the pilot project and test and evaluate at two different police district stations,” Roessler said, indicating that two different brands of body-worn cameras will be tested.

While Fairfax County began discussing body-worn cameras in 2014, the program has lagged behind others in the area.

All D.C. police officers are equipped with the cameras, about 900 are in use in Montgomery County and Arlington has a pilot program underway involving 25 officers and sheriff’s deputies. Prince George’s County police say they are implementing the first phase of their program during the first three months of this year.

“I don’t think it’s taking too long. I think the Board and staff are committed to this, and I think we’re doing it right,” said Fairfax County Executive Ed Long.

Fairfax has set aside about $1.9 million to evaluate and then launch its police body-worn camera program.

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.