That nagging Dumb Cop Issue

Off-duty police officer accidentally shoots roommate

DC police accidentally shoot man in barber shop

Iowa Cop Shoots at Dog, but Misses, Killing Woman Instead

Undercover APD detective shot by another officer

Off-duty police officer accidentally shoots roommate

Kate Royals, The Clarion-Ledger

A 28-year-old Brandon resident accidentally shot his roommate in the head with a new gun Wednesday night at their home, authorities say.

Zachary Jacob Creel is a Madison police officer who was not on duty at the time of the shooting.

The Rankin County Sheriff's Department responded to the incident in the Barnett Bend III subdivision in Brandon. When officials arrived at Creel's home, roommate Michael Hunter Flynt was alert and Creel was holding a towel to the wound, according to the incident report.

Creel told sheriff's deputies the weapon discharged while he was pulling it from the holster to show Flynt, striking him on the right side of his head.

Flynt was transported by American Medical Response to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he was conscious and alert when interviewed by sheriff's deputies, Chief Investigator Raymond Duke said.

Flynt is in stable condition and still at the hospital.

Duke said no charges are expected.

  

Iowa Cop Shoots at Dog, but Misses, Killing Woman Instead

Posted by: Carlos Miller in Cop kills dog, PINAC News,

An Iowa police officer trying to kill a dog, ended up killing a woman instead.

Not much information is available at the moment, but we have a PINAC correspondent on the ground in Burlington, trying to obtain more details.

According to Opposing Views:

A woman in Burlington, Iowa, was reportedly shot and killed by a police officer outside of her home right in front of her four-year-old son.

According to reports, 34-year-old Autumn Steele was arrested Monday night for domestic abuse. After being released from jail, Steele was told she could not return to her home without an officer to escort her. When she returned to her home to retrieve her things, she reportedly got into a dispute with her husband Gabriel as he was loading their four-year-old son into the car.

The officer who escorted Steele to her home reportedly tried to break up the altercation, and while he was attempting to intervene, the family’s dog reportedly approached. The officer allegedly felt threatened by the dog and pulled out his gun to shoot it. As he fired shots at the dog, one of them reportedly hit the 34-year-old mother in the chest.

“The dog startled the officer. The officer began shooting at the dog. The officer was still shooting when he fell down in the snow,” an eyewitness told The Hawk Eye.

It is not clear at this point if the dog followed through on the perceived attack on the officer, seizing on the opportunity that the cop had fallen in the snow.

DC police accidentally shoot man in barber shop

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- D.C. police say they accidentally shot a man in a Southeast barber shop while pursuing three robbery suspects.

It happened in the 2300 block of Martin Luther King Avenue around noon Wednesday.

Police say the suspects got out of a car and one displayed a handgun. That's when an officer opened fire and one of the bullets went through the door of the barber shop, hitting a patron. That victim, an adult male, is expected to be okay.

"I can't believe this neighborhood is going down like this. They should be more careful especially police shouldn't shoot into a crowd," said a nearby resident.

Kicia Brown was picking up her two small children at a nearby school.

"That could've been one of our children or parent walking to go to get their kids. I'm glad my kids are okay. It's ridiculous so close to a school zone," Brown said.

The suspects are in custody and a weapon was recovered. Police are checking to see if the suspect fired his gun.

Undercover APD detective shot by another officer

By Nicole Perez And Robert Browman

Police say the officer – an undercover detective – was shot by another officer in an undercover drug operation. The officer, whose name has not been released, underwent surgery and was in critical condition Friday afternoon, according to APD Chief Gorden Eden. Another officer was injured, according to APD spokeswoman Celina Espinoza, but the injuries were minor and the officer was released from the hospital. Police didn’t say how the second officer was injured. Two suspects from the narcotics operation were in custody, Eden said.

The cop crime wave in America continues SAPD officer arrested on theft charge had served previous suspension

Dillon Collier & Bailey McGowan 

A seven-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department was arrested Thursday night on a theft by public servant charge, a third-degree felony.

Konrad Chatys, 32, was arrested after a New Year's Eve incident in which he is accused of taking several thousand dollars, a rifle and marijuana from a couple after a domestic disturbance call.

Eyewitness News has now learned that Chatys served a 15-day suspension from late December 2013 to January 2014 for improper use of city property, according to suspension paperwork for Chatys.

An Internal Affairs investigation found in July 2013 that Chatys used his patrol vehicle's computer to run background checks on three people for non-police purposes.

At the time, Chatys also had a woman in his patrol vehicle whom he had picked up during a service call in the 7900 block of Pipers Creek, according to the paperwork. Chatys later lied while being questioned by Internal Affairs investigators in October 2013.

The cop crime wave in America continues Bradenton police officer involved in shooting placed on administrative leave

By KATE IRBY

 BRADENTON -- The police officer who shot a man who was trying to run her down with his car has been placed on administrative leave, according to the Bradenton Police Department.

Suspect Jarques Randall, 23, trespassed at Casa Mora Rehabilitation and Nursing Care, 1902 59th St. W., at about 3:10 p.m. Thursday and Sgt. Anthony Ramdath tried to arrest him. Randall ran from Ramdath and jumped in a car, according to police.

Officer Nasheka Craddock  arrived on scene and commanded Randall to get out of the vehicle and he refused, hitting her as he pulled out of a parking space, according to reports. Craddock then fired multiple shots, which struck the suspect in his vehicle, but he continued driving.

Randall caused a string of crashes as he fled from police, driving south on 59th Street West and ending when his car was disabled by a final crash at the intersection of Cortez Road and 37th Street West. Bradenton police officers and Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies were then able to apprehend him.

Craddock was treated for injuries to her leg at Blake Medical Center and was released Thursday night. She was placed on administrative leave as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the incident, which is department protocol when an officer is involved in a shooting.

Craddock has worked for Bradenton since December 2004. She was hired by the Bradenton Police Department in 2006.

In that time, she has been suspended 10 times for attendance-related issues, at-fault traffic crashes, unsatisfactory performance and one issue of unbecoming conduct in September 2010, when she was suspended for three weeks stemming from an arrest for domestic battery.

Craddock has never been disciplined for behavior involving weapons or excessive use of force, according to police records.

The cop crime wave in America continues OKC officer accused of rape receives letter of dismissal Thursday

 OKLAHOMA CITY – A police officer accused of rape while on duty is without a job as of Thursday. Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw received notice by letter, delivered to his home, that he was without a job. Holtzclaw is currently on house arrest and was on paid leave during the department’s investigation. Police say he was fired for numerous policy violations. Holtzclaw will be facing 36 charges altogether at his court date set for the end of the month.

The cop crime wave in America continues Affidavit: SAPD officer arrested for stealing pot, cash and a gun

By Mark D. Wilson : January 9, 2015

SAN ANTONIIO — A San Antonio Police Department officer was arrested Thursday night after allegedly stealing money, drugs and a gun from a man and woman while on duty last week.

Konrad Chatys, 32, faces a charge of theft by a public servant.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Chatys was dispatched to a Dec. 31 disturbance in a parking lot at 7999 Potranco Road where Maxine Flores, 23, and Scott Galindo, 22, had been arguing inside their vehicle.

The affidavit said Chatys separated the pair and placed Galindo in the back of his marked patrol car.

The officer asked Galindo if he had anything illegal inside his car and was told that there was a quarter of a pound of marijuana and a newly purchased rifle, the document said.

Upon searching the car, Chatys located the marijuana and rifle, along with several thousand dollars wrapped in a rubber band, authorities said.

Galindo told authorities that Chatys told him he could be in a lot of trouble for the gun, drugs and money, but that he would “give him a break” because it was the holidays.

The officer then took all the property and put it into his patrol vehicle, the document said.

When Flores pleaded with him to be allowed to keep some of the money because she needed to pay rent, Chatys gave back several hundred dollars, estimated to be about $1,500, according to the report.

The document added that Chatys told the pair he was “letting them get away with too much already.” He told them he intended to confiscate the marijuana but he would tell his supervisors he had simply found it and gun, they later told authorities.

Chatys, a seven-year veteran of SAPD, put the remaining cash in his car and left the scene, the affidavit said.

After leaving, however, Chatys went to his residence in the 1300 block of Range Field  before returning to a separate call.

The document said he never placed any of the confiscated items into the SAPD property room.

Flores made a complaint to patrol supervisors against Chatys on Jan. 7.

Concurrent investigations were opened by the department's internal affairs and intelligence units.

Officers executed a search warrant at Chatys’ residence, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest.

Chatys has been placed on administrative leave, as is department protocol. Officers are still investigating the incident.

"Actions like this have no place in the SAPD,” said Anthony Treviño, SAPD’s interim chief. “That is why swift and decisive action was taken on this case when we became aware of it. Although the case reflects badly on one individual, it is not a reflection of the over 2000 officers of the SAPD who come to work day in and day out to do the job with pride and integrity."

Chatys was booked into the Bexar County Jail late Thursday night. By 8:30 a.m. Friday, he had been released.

The cop crime wave in America continues Police: Plano Officer Charged With Child Porn

By Todd L. Davis

A Plano police officer is facing charges of possession of child pornography, police officials say. Plano Police Department spokesman David Tilley said Collin County sheriffs arrested 55-year-old Richard S. Bradford Thursday. Tilley said that Bradford is a patrol officer who has been with the department for nearly 15 years. Authorities said Bradford was released on bond and was placed on administrative leave while Collin County and Plano authorities investigate.

The cop crime wave in America continues Dallas officer charged with sexual assault found dead in Little Elm

Tristan Hallman

A Dallas officer who was charged with sexual assault last month was found dead Friday morning at his home in Little Elm.

David Wayne Kattner, 47, had been on administrative leave pending an investigation. He was scheduled to go to the internal affairs division Friday morning with his attorney.

Dallas police officials confirmed he died Friday in a statement: “The Dallas Police Department wishes to express its condolences to the family of Senior Corporal David Kattner, who passed away this morning.”

His wife reportedly found him dead in the home this morning. Kattner’s cause of death hasn’t been confirmed.

Police had arrested Kattner for sexual assault, a second-degree felony, after a prostitute told them he forced her to perform a sex act on him while he was on duty. She told police that he had forced her to do so twice before. He also allegedly told the woman that he knew where her daughter lived. Investigators were trying to determine if there were other women who may have been victims.

Kattner, a 26-year veteran of the department, was a northeast patrol division officer.

Chief enters off topic discussion on penis size to avoid talking about the John Geer killing

Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that..............sort of.....well, actually

Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that

Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that

The cop crime wave in America continues Welch Police Officer Charged With Stalking, Harassing

 Jeffrey A. Morris

WELCH, W.Va. – The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office said a Welch police officer faces charges after he allegedly pulled a woman over and asked her for sex.

Patrick Sherman McKinney, 51, is charged with stalking and harassing, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

 The sheriff’s office said a female victim came into the office and filed a complaint, stating that she has been pulled over and asked for sexual intercourse. She said  this has been occurring over a period of the last couple of months.

McKinney was charged and arraigned before McDowell County Magistrate Daniel Mitchell and a bond was set at $1,000. McKinney made bond and is awaiting trial.

Gerry Hyland killed police oversight after the cops gunned down unarmed citizens...you elected now toss him out. he

The cop crime wave in America continues NO, Settlements Over Police Brutality DON’T Bring Accountability to Cops or Prevent Future Police Brutality

Ed Krayewski

Reason.Com

shocking story of police abuse from New Jersey, via NJ.com:

In the suit filed in Superior Court in Newton, Raul Sanchez had said he was on his property in Wantage in the early morning hours of Nov. 21, 2009 when he saw "four people with flashlights heading toward him."

The troopers threw him on the ground, handcuffed him and asked, "Where's the gun?" according to the suit. Sanchez said he told the troopers he had no gun.

Nonetheless, the troopers kicked him on his back and sides and beat him with their flashlights, he said. They continued to beat him after he was handcuffed on the ground and not resisting arrest, according to the suit.

Sanchez suffered three broken ribs and a bruised spleen as a result of the attack, according to his attorney, Jeffrey Patti.

"Luckily, there was no permanent damage to the spleen and the broken ribs have healed," Patti said, noting that Sanchez, now 61, was 56 at the time of the attack.

No criminal charges were ever filed against Sanchez as a result of the incident, Patti said.

He added that to the best of his knowledge, the troopers have all kept their jobs and none have been disciplined.

Even being accused of owning a gun in New Jersey can be dangerous to your health. Sanchez’s lawyer claims police targeted Sanchez because he complained about patrons of the next door bar throwing garbage on his property.

The settlement, negotiated by a deputy attorney general on behalf of the four troopers, protects the state from having to admit any wrong-doing in the incident by offering money in exchange for Sanchez dropping the lawsuit. So taxpayers are paying not just for the settlement but for the thug cops’ representation. The State Police won’t comment, so it’s impossible to find out if they even pretended to run an investigation into the serious allegations of corruption made in the lawsuit.

I’m not going to deny anyone their right to extract as much money from the government as they can when they’ve been brutalized by government employees but the process of obtaining a settlement over claims of police brutality does NOTHING to bring accountability to police. Yet that claim is often floated. Sanchez’s attorney says he hoped that by “holding those four troopers accountable, future victims of police brutality can be spared.”

Similarly, a police brutality case settled in Philadelphia had one columnist suggesting the settlement, which also led to no discipline of the officers involved in the brutality or the cover-up, meant “not every cop who behaves badly gets a pass.” Much later in the piece the columnist admitted that “considering that taxpayers are the ones indirectly footing the bill and, as far as I know - police declined to comment - the officers aren't facing any disciplinary action, I'm not sure it's a lesson learned.” She finished by calling on Philadelphia police chief Charles Ramsey to investigate the cops’ behavior. And he should. But as Ramsey himself has stressed before, his options for disciplining and even terminating cops are severely limited by the police contract, something not mentioned by that columnist nor many of the others who touch on the issue of police brutality at all.

How Mobile Apps Can Combat Police Brutality

BY JASON TASHEA

The grand jury tasked with deciding whether to indict the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown heard 70 hours of testimony. The 60 witnesses and three medical examiners gave conflicting accounts about Brown’s last minutes. Ultimately, the grand jury opted not to indict. Their decision left many asking: What if there was a video? What if there was better oversight of police misconduct? Was Michael Brown a unique tragedy or part of a larger trend? The ACLU’s Mobile Justice App and Five-0 are technologies that will hopefully help answer these questions and protect communities from police misconduct.

Launched in November, ACLU Missouri’s Mobile Justice App is a civil rights attorney, evidence collector and homing beacon in one. Jeffrey Mittman, director of ACLU Missouri, says that the Mobile Justice App will empower communities that often feel a sense of resignation and defeat when it comes to interaction with the police. “Too often we see complaints of misconduct against the police fall apart in court because it’s the alleged victim’s word versus the police officer’s.”

While Congress debates funding for police body cameras, Mittman hopes the Mobile Justice App will improve citizens’ recourse with police now. Under the “Know Your Rights” tab, a user can access a simple list of rights and decisions one can make during a police confrontation. Users can record videos of their interactions with police, which are then immediately uploaded to the ACLU Missouri’s server for review and possible legal action. Already over 500 videos have been uploaded. The upload is to safeguard against illegal confiscation of phones or deletion of videos. Finally, the “Witness” feature informs others using the app that someone in their vicinity is witnessing or involved in a confrontation, thus drawing more eyewitnesses. Both the video and eyewitness feature are meant to bolster claims of misconduct in court.

There are concerns, however, about the real world limitations of this app. “There’s no clear training about [the app]; pulling a phone out around a cop could get people shot,” says Shauna Dillavou executive director of Community Red, a group promoting free speech and activism through technology. Mittman was quick to acknowledge the safety concern for users, which ACLU Missouri explains to their protest monitors.

Dillavou also thinks the app falls short in organizing activists. “The [Mobile Justice App] doesn’t collect the data or images to change the message around police misconduct.” The need for messaging and a broader conversation is what drove three Atlanta teens to create Five-0, a national venue for police and civilians to come together and talk. “Our movement is Partnership Policing,” says Asha and Ima Christian, two of the three siblings who created Five-0 last summer. Five-0, as opposed to the Mobile Justice App, accomplishes both community-wide data collection and reporting, and creates a platform for users to have an earnest discussion about police interactions. Asha admits, however, that the reporting component is the most used.

With Five-0, users can access the “Know Your Rights” information and create an incident report like on the ACLU’s app. Five-0 differentiates itself by promoting a conversation about policing. “We want the community to talk to each other, [the app] let’s people in the neighborhood know what’s going on.” This is critical to understand, Ima Christian explains by example, if Eric Garner’s death was an isolated tragedy or related to a chronic problem. By acknowledging trends, Asha Christian argues, activists will be better armed to tackle systemic problems.

For the three siblings, this project is as much communal as it is personal. “We have family members that had negative interactions with police,” Asha Christian continued, “Most of them didn’t want to follow up with the police. The one time they did there was no resolution… We want to empower people.” Now, the siblings say, family and friends that previously shrugged their shoulders at a negative interaction with the police feel as if they have recourse and that their interaction, whether good or bad, will be, at a minimum, a useful data point to show policing trends in their community.

With already 12,000 downloads and 6,000 active users, Five-0 is looking to improve user experience. Similar to the ACLU app, Five-0 plans to create an emergency button, so during an interaction with the police the user can immediately send a text to a list of contacts with GPS coordinates. They also want to improve police involvement on the app. Currently, the police can respond on Five-0’s message boards; however, starting in 2015, Five-0 will launch in eight American cities with police departments as partners to improve dialogue and efficacy in their communities. Asha Christian believes that fostering this dialogue will improve police-community relations. “What we’re doing is less expensive than body-cams, and just as far reaching.”

Jason Tashea is a is a criminal law and legal tech consultant and freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter @jtashea.

The cop crime wave in America continues Boston Police Officer Charged with Assaulting Uber Driver

He also allegedly took the Uber driver's car.

By Mike Bednarsky (Patch Staff)

A veteran Boston police officer is being accused of physically attacking an Uber driver and taking his car.

Police arrested 40-year-old Michael Doherty, a 16-year department veteran, early Sunday morning, NECN reported.

The driver for the ride-sharing service reported that Doherty, an off-duty passenger, accused him of bringing him to the wrong location. The victim said the passenger physically assaulted him once he stopped the vehicle.

The Uber driver exited the vehicle before the passenger jumped into the front seat and drove off, according to a statement from the Boston Police Department.

The victim, with a passing motorist who assisted him, followed the vehicle to E. 1st Street and Farragut Road where the suspect stopped and exited the victim’s car, Boston.com noted.

Uber spokesman Taylor Bennett issued the following statement regarding the assault on Monday: “Our thoughts are with our valued partner during his recovery and we are supporting him in any way we can during this time. We have a strict policy to remove any rider that exhibits aggressive or abusive behavior from the platform and we have permanently blocked this rider’s access. We stand ready to assist law enforcement in their investigation.”

Doherty was placed on paid administrative leave. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

Suspended Cleveland police officer a "serial abuser of women," per prosecutors seeking $100K bond

 By James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer 

CLEVELAND, Ohio --  City police officer David Anderson had three prior incidents of domestic violence before he was indicted last month on charges of menacing by stalking, aggravated menacing and domestic violence, according to court documents.

Cuyahoga County prosecutors on Monday filed an eight-page motion asking a judge to raise Anderson's bond to $100,000 to more accurately reflect the seriousness of the charges and his three previous violent episodes with women.

Anderson is scheduled to be arraigned on the latest charges on Thursday in Common Pleas Court, at which time a new bond will be set, he will be asked to enter a plea, and a judge will be assigned to the case.

Anderson, 51, a city police officer since 2007, is free on a $10,000 bond posted by Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association president Jeffrey Follmer. He was released from jail Dec. 16 -- the day after his arrest.

Anderson, a Second District patrol officer, is suspended without pay pending the outcome of his case. His lawyer Henry Hilow said he would plead not guilty to the charges at the hearing. He decried the prosecutors' motion.

"Officer Anderson is a good public servant and an outstanding police officer," Hilow said. "He is ready to vigorously defend himself against these charges. The request for a $100,000 bond for a fourth-degree felony is ridiculous."

According to the prosecutors' motion, Anderson already has violated a no-contact order with the victim, his 43-year-old live-in girlfriend, who told police that Anderson called her after his arrest.

"The state is extremely concerned that Anderson will do so again," the motion reads, "and that the mere possibility of any further contact between Anderson and the victim poses an unjustifiable risk that he will harm her."

According to the motion, Anderson attacked his girlfriend three times on consecutive days, beginning Dec. 13, when he shoved her to the ground, causing her head to strike the pavement and knocking her unconscious.

The next day, Anderson again shoved the woman to the ground outside their home on South Hills Avenue in Cleveland. The following day, he kicked in her bedroom door, chased her down the stairs and shoved her to the landing, where her head was bloodied, the motion said.

In 2010, North Royalton police arrested Anderson after he threatened a different girlfriend, knocked out drywall in her home, broke dishes and slashed the tires on her car, the motion said. Anderson later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.

In 2009, the girlfriend's daughter called police to report that Anderson was on top of her mother and threatening to punch her. But the girlfriend declined to press charges.

In 2005, Cleveland police arrested Anderson after the same woman accused him of threatening to snap her neck. He later called her from jail and told her, "If I could have, I would have snapped your neck. You better fix this," according to the motion. City prosecutors declined to charge Anderson then.

County prosecutors contend that police officers must be held to a higher legal standard than the public, and that Anderson's violent crimes damage the trust essential for officers to properly perform their duty to protect and uphold the laws.

"When a bad officer breaks the law, he makes the job of every good officer less safe," the motion said.

"Because of that heightened legal standard, this court should set bond at a level that is above and beyond what this court would normally set for a serial abuser of women with a history of threats and violence, who has already violated the no-contact order against him," the motion concludes.

The prosecutors said a larger bond is also necessary because Anderson faces the likelihood of a prison sentence, if convicted, providing him a "significant incentive to flee."

Pittsburgh settles suit with teacher arrested outside community meeting

By Robert Zullo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh City Council this morning approved a $52,500 payment to settle a lawsuit filed by a teacher who was thrown in jail by a city police officer as he was leaving a community meeting in Homewood on charges that were dropped.

The settlement includes several changes to police policy and procedures, according to an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who represented Dennis Henderson, 39. The ACLU called the case a racially motivated false arrest and a clear-cut case of police misconduct.

Mr. Henderson, a teacher at the Manchester Academic Charter School, told the Citizens Police Review Board earlier this year that he was leaving a June 2013 meeting at the Community Empowerment Association in Homewood and went to his car to get a business card to give to a journalist. He was arrested after a confrontation that started when Officer Jonathan Gromek sped by and Mr. Henderson exclaimed "Wow."

The Citizens Police Review Board recommended in March that the city fire Officer Gromek. The police department recommended a written reprimand in November 2013, after the Office of Municipal Investigations found he violated departmental policy. He remains a city officer and is assigned to Zone 3, which includes most of South Side.

Cop Fired After Tasing 76-Year-Old During Traffic Stop

Elian El-Khamissi

A Texas police officer was dismissed from the department for abusing an elderly man.

After an internal investigation, Victoria Police Department (VPD) fired Officer Nathanial Robinson for using a taser on 76-year old Pete Vasquez, in an attack that was caught on dashcam.

In a statement released on Monday, VPD said that Robinson violated three department policies, including Conduct and Performance, Use of Force, and Arrest without a Warrant when he stopped Vasquez for driving with an expired inspection sticker in December.

When Vasquez told the officer that he was driving a vehicle with a dealer’s tag, which didn’t require a current sticker, Robinson slammed him onto the hood of the police car, then to the ground and tased him twice.

Vasquez was handcuffed and taken to a hospital but was never cited for any crime.

Officer Robinson was put on administrative leave during the investigation.  He may still face criminal charges.

Cops shoots himself by mistake

Fairfax County Releases Statement on Shooting of Springfield Man

By Tim Peterson

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/

It’s been more than 16 months since John Geer of Springfield was shot and killed by a Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) officer. And since the Aug. 29, 2013 shooting, scant information on the incident has been provided by the FCPD or the county Board of Supervisors, such as an explanation of what transpired up to and following the shooting, and the identities of the officers involved. They’ve kept this information from the media, the public and the Geer family, citing an ongoing federal investigation into the death.

That was until Jan 5, when Fairfax County released a 304-word statement regarding the events surrounding Geer’s death. For the first time, the officer who shot Geer was named: PFC Adam Torres, who the statement said, “fired a single shot that struck Geer.”

#“We’ve had policies in place regarding when a police officer’s name and information is released,” Board of Supervisors chairman Sharon Bulova said Monday night. “Usually it’s a matter of weeks. In this particular case it turned out to be an unusual situation that took longer.”

#Police had been called to Geer’s house by his partner and mother of his two daughters Maura Harrington, over a domestic dispute. The statement says officers, “including a trained negotiator,” talked with Geer for over half an hour while he stood in the doorway of his house, arms raised above his head and resting on the doorframe.

#“Geer was reported as having multiple firearms inside the home,” the statement says, “displaying a firearm that he threatened to use against the police, and refused the officers’ requests that he remain outside and speak to them.”

#Torres then shot Geer in the chest when he began lowering his hands.

ACCORDING TO THE STATEMENT a SWAT team entered Geer’s house, after Geer died, and found a loaded, holstered handgun on the stairs by where he had been standing.

 “A large amount of citizens have guns in their home. Does that give them the right to come and shoot you?” said Jeff Stewart of Chantilly, a friend of Geer’s for over 25 years who witnessed the shooting.

 “At the time he was shot he wasn’t bearing any arms. He owned them. Why is it relevant to the release? Does a loaded gun show intent? The burden fell on the police to defuse the situation, let the guy go inside, chill out.”

Geer’s father Don didn’t hear about the county’s release until someone called to say it was happening on television.

 “The press release I felt was very tainted towards the police department,” he said. “It depicted John as being a terrorist or something, had all these guns in the house. He was a hunter. It didn’t sound like that.”

THOUGH THE COUNTY’S STATEMENT refers to a Circuit Court ruling that they “may release some information pertaining to the Aug. 29, 2013, officer-involved shooting of John Geer,” the Dec. 22 opinion from judge Randy Bellows was a court order.

After a Dec. 19 hearing in Fairfax, Bellows quickly turned around a response forcing the county to produce more than 100 documents being sought by lawyer Michael Lieberman in a $12 million civil suit over Geer’s death. According to Lieberman, the county had previously objected to all but six of 127 requests for documents.

 “That’s pretty amazing to have a judge turn around and give you a 12-page opinion over a weekend,” said Lieberman. “He obviously worked on it all weekend, he listened carefully.”

The documents include everything from 911 calls and witness statements to the medical treatment of Geer and blood pattern examination. Bellows is holding off granting or denying production of several documents as they relate to the county’s internal investigation or the federal investigation. He gave the county 30 days to produce all the others.

The FCPD has defended their silence so far through the criminal investigative privilege afforded by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The department declined to comment for this story and the Fairfax County Attorney’s office didn’t respond to an interview request.

In his opinion piece, Bellows wrote: “The entity seeking to assert the criminal investigative file privilege is no longer responsible for any aspect of the criminal investigation and the entity that is now solely responsible for the criminal investigation has made it clear that it has taken no step to discourage the custodian of the criminal investigative files from disclosure of most of the files at issue.”

Bellows referred to correspondence between U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik, acknowledging that the case currently sits with the U.S. Department of Justice, not the state’s attorney or the FCPD. Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent formal inquiries to FCPD Chief Edwin Roessler and U.S. Attorney Dana Boente about the case in November 2014. He sent another letter to Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond Morrogh in December.

Kadzik answered Grassley that the FCPD wasn’t instructed to withhold information about the shooting, only the federal investigation.

Lieberman has continued to criticize the Board of Supervisors, who have authority over the FCPD and allowed the silence from that department to continue.

For Stewart and the Geer family, the continued silence, even with this recent disclosure, has been frustrating and painful.

 “It’s surreal enough to watch your friend get shot,” said Stewart. “It goes to a whole different level when no one’s held accountable.”

 “I can’t figure out why I’ve had to go through this miserable 16 months in order to hear anything being done at all,” said Don Geer. “Closure would be why someone pulled the trigger and killed my son, that’s as much as I can expect at this point in time. A better idea of why did it happen.”

“We need to be transparent and we haven’t been,” he said in a recent interview. “The county attorney is supposed to provide advice, we make decisions. I think we’ve been following overly protective legal advice instead of making the right decision in this case, is really what it boils down to.”

Lieberman said he sees this action by the county as “preemptive damage control.” He continued, “The only positive thing I take out of it is some claim they’re finally going to change the policies.”

Bulova admitted the Board of Supervisors, FCPD and County Attorney’s policies on information sharing all need to be examined. "In retrospect,” she said, “our policies need to be changed to provide information sooner if there is a delay like this.”

She also addressed the possibility of revisiting creating a citizen’s police advisory council.

 “At least it’s getting their attention,” Geer said. “The idea of the police investigating the police just doesn’t work. That’s all there is to it.”

Lieberman is optimistic that future hearings will help produce more documents, and for now at least some answers to 16-month-old questions are coming forward.

 “The nightmare of John’s shooting isn’t ever going to end,” he said, “but the nightmare of what the county’s done, at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel for getting over that part.”

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.

Seven unanswered questions in the Fairfax police shooting death of John Geer

By Tom Jackman

The Washington Post

After Fairfax County on Monday decided to release the name of the officer involved in the fatal shooting of John Geer in 2013, and make the new allegation that Geer had threatened police with a gun, there remain a number of crucial unanswered questions in the case. Here are our top seven. You can add yours in the comments:

1) Why did Officer Adam Torres fire one shot at close range and kill John Geer?

After 16 months of silence, the Fairfax police identified a 31-year-old eight-year veteran from the West Springfield patrol station as the shooter, but would not say why he fired. Did Torres think that Geer, after between 30 and 50 minutes of discussion, was reaching for a gun when he began to lower his hands from the top of the storm door? Witnesses say Geer’s hands had only reached eye level when Torres fired. When officers feel threatened, they are trained to fire more than one time. Other officers were also on scene, with weapons aimed at Geer, but they did not fire. Was the shot intentional, or an accident? Did Geer say something that caused Torres to feel threatened?

2) When will a decision be made about whether to charge Torres with a crime?

The case is now in the hands of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, which is not known for prompt decisions (see the Oscar Grant case in Oakland from 2009, or the Trayvon Martin case from 2012). The investigation, initially conducted by the Fairfax police homicide section and reviewed by Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh, was shifted to the U.S. attorney in Alexandria in January 2014 after Morrogh ran into roadblocks obtaining internal affairs information from the Fairfax police, Morrogh has said. The FBI and Justice Department lawyers then investigated, subpoenaed the same internal affairs information Morrogh sought, then passed the case to Main Justice in November for a ruling.

The difference between the Geer case and Grant, Martin, Michael Brown and others is that local prosecutors and juries made decisions on those cases before the feds got involved. This time, the feds are the first ones to make a call. And if they decide there was no civil rights violation — defined as a government entity willfully denying a citizen their rights — does the case then return to Fairfax prosecutor Morrogh for a decision on whether state law was violated? How long would all this take?

3) What internal affairs files were the Fairfax and federal prosecutors seeking in this case?

This has apparently been a major sticking point for investigators, and several officials familiar with the case said that both Morrogh and the federal prosecutors were seeking information not on the shooter, Torres, but on one of the police witnesses. The issue reportedly is whether the witness has had prior problems with truthfulness. Fairfax prosecutors are careful not to use witnesses whose truthfulness has been challenged in court, because it allows defense attorneys to attack their testimony. Did a police witness in the Geer case offer corroborating testimony for Torres, or conflicting? This is also complicated by the legal precedent that statements given by officers in internal investigations, mandatorily, cannot be used against them in criminal cases, where they are not required to testify. Morrogh reportedly was not seeking to prosecute anyone based on the prior cases, but Fairfax County attorneys still resisted.

4) How will Fairfax County proceed in the civil lawsuit filed by Geer’s family?

Frustrated after a year of silence, Geer’s family sued Fairfax police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. and the county in September, seeking answers. Fairfax resisted providing any pre-trial discovery, saying the case was still under federal investigation. Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows last month ordered Fairfax to turn over everything that was obtained before the case went to the feds in January 2014 and gave them 30 days to do so. After two weeks, Fairfax has not yet done so. In the last police shooting to go to civil court, the 2006 killing of unarmed optometrist Salvatore Culosi, Fairfax County fought Culosi’s lawyers for four years in federal court before finally agreeing to pay a $2 million settlement on the eve of trial. Will Fairfax again take a hardball approach to the family of a man shot dead by one of their officers?

5) When will Fairfax County provide a detailed timeline of what happened that day?

After 16 months, the Fairfax police for the first time revealed not only Torres’s name, but a new claim that Geer was “displaying a firearm that he threatened to use against the police.” The police also stated that “a trained negotiator” was involved and tried to get Geer to emerge from his townhouse, though Geer was not holding any hostages and was not known to be suspected of any crimes. Geer’s father said he was told by police that Geer was unarmed, and he does not appear armed in a photo taken shortly before the shooting, though a holstered, loaded handgun was found a few feet from the doorway. The Geer family’s lawyer, Michael Lieberman, said he had never heard any report about Geer displaying a gun or that a negotiator was involved. What other details do Fairfax authorities have about the case, including their decision to wait an hour before rendering aid to the mortally wounded Geer?

6) If the case languishes at the federal level, will Sen. Charles Grassley get involved again?

Grassley (R-Iowa) is now the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As the case sat quietly within the Justice Department, he fired off letters to the Fairfax police chief, the U.S. attorney and the Fairfax prosecutor, asking what was causing the delay. The responses to his questions made it clear that no one was silencing the Fairfax police, clearing the way for Judge Bellows to order them to release information to the family in the civil case. Will he seek more information if the case goes quiet again?

7) Why have Fairfax police not previously stated that Geer was “displaying a firearm that he threatened to use against the police”?

When Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson’s full explanation of why he shot Michael Brown was made publicly available, it provided a previously missing component to the discussion of why Brown was killed. Wilson’s version of events came less than four months after the shooting, but well after the civil unrest it caused. In Fairfax, there has been no civil unrest, and, until Monday, very little information.