Fairfax County Police Watch: 05/07/21

Fairfax County board reaffirmed its support for newly appointed police chief, despite reports of lawsuits he faced earlier in his career.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors threw their support behind new Chief of Police Kevin Davis, whose appointment has been clouded by recent reports of use-of-force lawsuits against him in his past. The board appointed Davis on April 23, and his first day on the job was Monday.

In the aftermath of Davis' appointment, several news outlets in the Washington, D.C. area reported that the incoming police chief had a series of use-of-force cases brought against him when he worked for the Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland earlier in his career.

The board issued a statement late Tuesday afternoon saying Davis was chosen with their full support and confidence.

"We are aware of the incidents reported in the local media," the statement said. "While they occurred decades ago, we understand the concerns of the community. We expect Chief Davis to respond to questions regarding those incidents in the media and directly with the community and the Board of Supervisors. He has also demonstrated through his leadership that his past experiences have shaped his focus on reform. He has our trust to guide the Fairfax County Police Department through the challenges ahead and build on the reform efforts already made."

In the early 1990s, Davis — who Board Chairman Jeff McKay described as someone who will further the county's work on police reform — stopped a soon-to-be law student named Mark Spann while he was driving in Prince George's County.

After Spann was stopped, Davis violently took him to the ground and arrested him, Spann told NBC4. He eventually won his civil case against Davis.

Six years later, Davis was sued again, this time for false imprisonment and arrest of a man who said Davis and other officers essentially kidnapped him for a night, NBC4 reported. The victim won a civil lawsuit against Davis.

Davis went on to become the assistant chief in Prince George's County before getting jobs leading Anne Arundel County and Baltimore city's police departments.

In its statement, the board reiterated its commitment to collectively reform policing in the county and expected Davis "to be a strong and effective advocate for the types of reforms that are designed to protect at risk communities from police misconduct."

On Monday, FCPD posted a photo to its official Twitter account of Rev. Anthony McCarthy, a former NAACP spokesman and a former public information office for three Baltimore mayors.

"Baltimore has had a long line of police commissioners," McCarthy said, in the Twitter post. "Kevin Davis has a human touch. People genuinely like him and admire him, both black and white. He was exceptionally aware and sensitive of race issues because of the obvious demographics of our city. Fairfax County will be well-served by Kevin Davis."

In a second quote posted by FCPD Tuesday on Twitter, Tessa Hill Aston, former president of the Baltimore NAACP, praised Davis, saying that "he listened and acted" when they worked together in Baltimore.

McKay and Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, who chairs the board's public safety committee, are hosting the call-in, public input session about Davis at 7 p.m., on Thursday. Those wishing to participate in the community input session may call 703-324-1020. Anyone who wishes to testify by phone during the event or submit video or written testimony must sign up in advance by emailing clerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov.

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.