Council files lawsuit after Muslim woman says Fairfax police forced her to remove hijab

 

 

Council files lawsuit after Muslim woman says Fairfax police forced her to remove hijab

________________________________________

by Samantha Mitchell

Relations (CAIR) announced it held an online press conference to declare the filing of a federal lawsuit in Alexandria for Abrar Omeish, who says she was pepper-sprayed and forced to take off her hijab after being pulled over by a Fairfax County police officer in 2019.

CAIR asserts that the lawsuit on behalf of Omeish, who is a Virginia elected official, is meant to challenge police brutality, and to assist Omeish in launching the 'Fight for Five' colation for local and state reforms.

According to a press release sent out by CAIR, Omeish was pulled over by the Fairfax County officer after she turned right at a red light. She was then forced to remove her hijab, according to CAIR, and photographed in violation of federal law.

Gadeir Abbas, an attorney with the council, clarified that the incident happened in March 2019.

Abbas says the filing is supported by other community groups, leaders and activists to go "against the police brutality" in the case where he says Omeish was "illegally" forced to remove her hijab.

"Whether it's about what we're seeing now at the Capitol, and the conversations about race and policing in this country, what we saw this summer, what's been going on for many years, this was a situation that I never expected being in," Omeish said during the online press conference. "It's certainly not pleasant to have to imagine the prospect of a lawsuit, of what that's going to entail, on putting my privacy on public display."

She adds that she ended up with a concussion that night and she tried to explain the importance of her hijab, but she said it "didn't matter in that particular instance."

Omeish explains she's been wearing the hijab since the second grade, but says the "bigger picture is what's happening next."

She says she's been working for the past year to push for reform based on what happened, adding she says she hasn't seen much change in the aftermath, which is why she says she's calling for the lawsuit.

"The disproportionate impact that law enforcement has had on our community is untenable, it's unacceptable - and we're demanding something different, and I feel like this is my obligation to the community," Omeish explained.

According to Lena Masir, the CAIR Litigation Director, the lawsuit goes against the "egregious and senseless violation of [Omeish's] constitutional rights."

Masir adds that Omeish was pulled over for a minor traffic violation while she was on the way to a campaign rally for the Fairfax County School Board and says that the officer shouted at her, "forced her" out of her car and pepper-sprayed her. Masir clarified that the department investigated and said the officer used "excessive use of force" and Omeish "never presented any threat of danger."

"[Officers] forced Ms. Omeish to remove her hijab in plain view of male officers and detainees being held at that facility just to take her booking photo," Masir asserted. "Her photograph without her hijab was then uploaded to a statewide database that's available to all law enforcement in Virginia and the public, anyone who requests it, causing her to suffer from irreparable harm."

Masir also elaborated that out of any department of state and country-wide correctional facilities, "none of them require the removal of the hijab" or religious head coverings for identification purposes.

She adds that the hijab is "worn by many Muslim women around the world to safeguard their modesty," expressing the importance of it to Muslim women.

CAIR adds that Fairfax County Chief of Police's internal investigation found that the use of force in the case was "improper and in violation of departmental regulations."

"It's time Fairfax County joined other law enforcement agencies in respecting and protecting the rights of Muslim women and people of other faiths," Masir reiterated, adding that there are current 55,000 Muslims residing in Fairfax County.

She added that the council has been seeing a "rising trend" in cases of Muslim women being forced to remove their hijab, and there are currently pending lawsuits in Michigan, Florida and in California "challenging similar policies."

"We file this lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Omeish to both vindicate her rights, but also to impose a policy change that requires Fairfax County to respect the rights of Muslim women that wear the hijab," Masir explained.

In the press release, CAIR describes its organization as "America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims."

 

 

airfax officer booked into Allendale County jail over stolen pistol

 

 

Fairfax officer booked into Allendale County jail over stolen pistol

 

ALLENDALE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrested an off-duty captain with the Fairfax Police Department, SLED reported.

It happened Thursday when during a traffic stop when SLED agents and local law enforcement discovered the individual in possession of a stolen firearm and open container, SLED reported.

Donald Anthony Williams, 53, was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol, possession of stolen pistol, misconduct in office and open container in motor vehicle, SLED reported.

Williams was booked at the Allendale County Detention Center.

The case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

It wasn’t the only local arrest for SLED to be involved in this week.

 

So what? They'll get away with no matter what happens

 

Fairfax County Police Name Officers Involved in Falls Church Shooting

Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler Jr. identified the officers as Master Police Officer Lance Guckenberger and Police Officer First-Class Matthew Grubb in a statement issued on Friday (Jan. 8).

Most police departments in Northern Virginia are participating, but three big departments are not: Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Alexandria.

 

Northern Virginia Police Departments Join Forces to Police Themselves

 

Police departments in Northern Virginia are reforming how officers are investigated when they use deadly force.

The Northern Virginia Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Committee announced the Northern Virginia Critical Incident Response Team Tuesday.

Currently, police use of force is investigated by detectives within the same department. Soon, it will be investigated by a team of detectives from multiple agencies except the agency involved in the shooting.

Once the investigation is complete, the process remains the same. The facts of the case are given to the prosecutor in the county where the officers involved in the shooting work, and the prosecutor will determine if the shooting was justified or criminal.

"This agreement demonstrates the commitment in Northern Virginia to the police chiefs involved to evolve and provide modern policing to our communities," Manassas Chief of Police Doug Keen said.

Most police departments in Northern Virginia are participating, but three big departments are not: Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Alexandria.

Thank God for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano

  

Fairfax prosecutor presses case for more changes

·       by BRIAN TROMPETER, Sun Gazette Newspapers

 

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano approves of criminal-justice changes enacted in 2020, but said more needs to be done.

The reforms aim to reduce mass incarceration and racial and economic inequities in the criminal-justice system while maintaining community safety, Descano told the McLean Citizens Association in a Dec. 16 virtual meeting.

Descano, a Democrat, said he was “really excited” that Fairfax County police by the end of 2021 almost fully will implement a body-worn-camera program, providing cameras to about 1,200 officers.

“I really do feel that body-worn cameras are essential to creating trust in the community,” he said. “They are a great tool for evidence, they are a great tool for police accountability, and quite frankly, they’re also in many ways a tool to make sure our police aren’t being accused of things that they did not do.”

Descano is seeking 65 more staff members to ensure proper case prosecution and review of voluminous video recordings from police body and cruiser cameras. County prosecutors will need to review about 89,000 hours’ worth of body-worn-camera recordings annually, in addition to roughly 60,000 hours of recordings from cameras in police cruisers, he said.

Virginia’s commonwealth’s attorneys only statutorily are required to prosecute felonies, so the funding burden for tackling misdemeanors falls on localities,  said Descano, who previously served on the Fairfax County Police Civilian Review Panel. The county police department’s animal-control unit has a larger budget than the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, he said.

County officials are giving his office some annex space in a former warehouse and bus depot about 10 minutes from the courthouse.

“At the end of the day, I’m not trying to put my people in luxury. I’m just trying to get the job done for the people of the county,” Descano said.

Descano worked with General Assembly members during the lengthy special session this fall to increase diversion initiatives, which allow low-risk people to enter rehabilitation programs instead of being incarcerated.

Legislators also enacted police use-of-force reforms, banning chokeholds and making it the duty of officers to intervene if they witness a colleague using excessive force, he said.

Other new laws prohibit “no-knock” warrants and nighttime service of warrants. Another law, which will take effect next March, will limit “pretextual” stops by police on minor violations, which in some communities led to the over-policing of minorities, he said.

Descano said he hoped legislators in the future will address mandatory-minimum sentences for some offenses, which take discretion away from judges. He attempted to assure those participating in the event that such changes would not make the community less safe.

“We’re not talking about just letting people go free willy-nilly,” he said. “We are talking about finding the appropriate sentence for the facts of the case.”

A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army helicopter pilot who later worked as a federal prosecutor, Descano – who garnered significant campaign cash for outside interest groups, some affiliated with financier George Soros – last year narrowly defeated incumbent Raymond Morrogh (D) in a primary and beat independent challenger Jonathan Fahey in the November 2019 election.

Descano continued to criticize his predecessor, saying that upon taking office he discovered the commonwealth’s attorney’s office was “not doing the job they claimed to be doing . . . they were not reviewing evidence before going forward in cases. So I know that innocent people were being put in jail.”

Lack of evidence review in 2019 also caused an attempted-murder case to be dismissed, he said.

“Instead of just kind of burying my head in the sand, as had been done by the previous administration, I’ve actively been working with the [Board of Supervisors] and the county executive’s office to get the amount of resources that we need to actually do the job right.”

Since taking office in January, Descano has faced criticism that his office has stopped prosecuting minor crimes. Some Fairfax County police officers also have been criticial of some of his decisions.

Descano opposes requiring suspects who are not dangerous to the community to post cash bail while they await trial, saying this created a two-tier justice system. Those who cannot afford to pay may spend multiple days in jail, which could cost them their jobs, housing or custody of their children, he said.

Conversely, “if you’re a danger to the community, no amount of money should allow you to get out,” he said.

Descano opposes capital punishment, preferring to seek life imprisonment with no parole in such cases.

“The death penalty . . .  doesn’t do anything to keep us safer,” he said, calling it a waste of time and resources. “Every time an appeal comes up, that family, that victim, has to relive this horror over and over again.”

Moderator Patrick Smaldore thanked Descano for fielding a wide range of questions.

“It’s not an easy job [to be] in your shoes. I can see that now,” Smaldore said.

To view the discussion, visit www.facebook.com/mcleancitizens/videos/3781744845218045.

The point is being missed once again

 If the cops are a problem, right away the cops and the media look at race. 

The problem with the Fairfax County Police isn't race.

The cops has a problem with all races.

....okay? So it's a not a race issue....its a hiring issue. The FCPD hires malcontents with a punk attitude. Solve that problem....its solvable by brining in outside blood to kick ass and take names......and the County has basically solved 90% of their police issues   

 

In Quest for Transparency, FCPD Launches New Data Dashboard

Amidst national calls for transparency and accountability in policing, the Fairfax County Police Department is launching a new interactive data dashboard.

The tool, which is based on Geographic Information System mapping, houses data including arrests, citations, warnings and police department training and policies. FCPD will debut the new platform at a series of virtual town halls beginning on Nov. 18.

“We look forward to implementing this additional layer of accountability and leveraging data analytics to continue to strengthen trust and confidence in your police department,” FCPD wrote in a statement.

The department says the tool was designed based on community input.

“Our new GIS-based data dashboards were designed with input from stakeholders and we will continue to. Have healthy discussions with each of you concerning police policies and operations in all communities,” wrote FCPD Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. in a letter to the community on Oct.  16.

A renewed focus on FCPD’s operations is expected in early 2021 when a team of researchers from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is expected to complete an academic analysis of FCPD’s data and its relationship to core operations today.

 The review was initiated at the direction of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the county’s Independent Police Auditor.

Researchers at UTSA are studying the department’s culture after a study released in 2017 found that roughly 40 percent of all use-of-force incidents involve a Black individual.

Across the country, similar conversations about transparency in policing have resulted in reform and additional policy directives.

Recent arrest data released by the departments shows some evidence of disproportionate policing in the county. The data indicate that Black individuals make up roughly 39 percent of all arrests last year. Black residents account for 9.7 percent of the total population.

FCPD officers arrested 34,330 people in 2019, 57 percent of which were white. White residents make up roughly 61 percent of the total population.

In 2017, a study found that roughly 40 percent of all use-of-force incidents involve a Black individual.

Roessler Jr. says his department is grateful for “the additional layer of accountability” provided by the data sets and the ongoing academic review.

“Together, we shall continue to leverage data analytics to build trust,” he said.

FCPD plans to host virtual town halls with district station commanders to discuss training and policies related to the data sets. The complete schedule, including links to the meetings, is below:

•          Fair Oaks District – Nov. 18 https://bit.ly/3eJt3Uo

•          West Springfield District – Nov. 24 https://bit.ly/3khd01i

•          Sully District – Dec. 9 https://bit.ly/2JYG8y9

•          Mount Vernon District – Dec. 16 https://bit.ly/3peB8Wb

•          McLean District – Jan. 6 https://bit.ly/3kk4ZZz

•          Mason District – Jan. 20 https://bit.ly/32tXLfi

•          Reston District – Feb. 4 https://bit.ly/38vYDUG

•          Franconia District – Feb.  17 https://bit.ly/3ncEVBy

All meetings will be recorded and released the public at a later date.

..and it only took them 200 years to come up with a law that protects us from the Fairfax County Police

One day after defeat, House committee approves bill limiting qualified immunity for police officers

By Joe Dashiell

Published: Sep. 1, 2020 at 7:28 PM EDT

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) -One day after a House of Delegates committee failed to advance a key criminal justice reform, the measure resurfaced.

And this time, a bill that would make it easier to sue law enforcement officers for violating an individual’s rights moved closer to becoming law.

The legislation would limit the qualified immunity, the legal doctrine which currently shields officers from lawsuits.

It would create a civil action in state law for the deprivation of rights.

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“I hope that we will put in place something that will help people think about what they’re doing,” said Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County), “before they shoot people in the back.”

Opponents said the law would make it harder to recruit, and would encourage good officers to leave the force.

Del. Terry Austin (R-Botetourt County) said he had spoken with officers who oppose the measure.

“They’ve got many years of service,” Austin said. “They’re very dedicated to their profession, but this bill can be very devastating. And they’re not willing to jeopardize their livelihood and their homes in the event of a civil case.”

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The impact each side argued, would be significant.

“The worst thing that can happen here is you’re second-guessing yourself all the time and in the back of your mind is I can always be sued,” said Del. Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights).

" We went for eight and a half minutes. Someone was on George Floyd’s neck,”said Del. Delores McQuinn (D-Richmond). “There should have been a second-guessing at that time.”

This time the bill passed on a vote 12 to 8. Now it’s headed for a vote in the full House.

I don't agree with this guy, but at least he has tried to make a difference. The problem is punk attitude on FCPD, bottom line

Opinion: Commentary: Police Brutality, Peaceful Protest and Crime

By John Lovaas, Reston Impact Producer/Host

#It was my intention to dedicate this week’s column either to the adventure of running the Reston Farmers Market during Covid-19 or the whereabouts of the RA CEO. As you see, I am doing neither. I cannot ignore the endless police brutality and killing with impunity of people of color. And, I fear it could happen here. Images of shocking brutality on black people by rogue cops keep coming, courtesy of videos by ubiquitous cell phone videos. The latest from Kenosha, Wis. shows an officer holding Jacob Blake and pumping seven bullets into his back beside a car with Blake’s three young children inside. Then we see footage of rioting in Kenosha as police stand by watching, and even socializing a white man with an assault rifle he allegedly used to spray bullets at protesters, killing two of them. A few weeks before that we watched a Minneapolis officer execute George Floyd, asphyxiating him face down in the street with a knee in his back. Will the officers be held accountable for these vile acts? Not if history is our guide.

#Floyd’s killing resulted in massive protests all over the USA. In some cases, protests were followed by small groups rioting and looting, criminal acts using the peaceful protests as camouflage for destruction and robbery. These acts by thugs, among them white supremacists and others encouraged by the right, deserve condemnation by us all and prosecution to the full extent of the law. Law breakers’ violent acts divert attention from the urgent need to reform the police and, as Joe Biden says, not to defund them. End immunity, restore community!

#Fairfax County worked to reform our Police Department in 2015, following public uproar over the unprovoked killing of a white resident and a subsequent coverup. I served on the Ad Hoc Commission created to review police practices. The Commission unanimously adopted over 200 recommendations for transformation of the force. Since then, there has been progress, e.g., improved police training, new use of force regs, and better public information. However, key recommendations were not adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Others stalled in implementation, e.g., adoption of body-worn cameras for police officers.

#The most crucial shortcomings, ones that make the community vulnerable to continued police impunity, were the Board of Supervisors’ failure to adopt recommendations for independent investigation of police use of force and killings. The Commission recommended the County provide funding for both the Commonwealth Attorney and the Civilian Review Panel to contract independent investigators responsible to them, not to the other police officers. Without these reforms, police remain accountable to investigation only by fellow officers for killings and other use of force misdeeds. Without corrective action by the Board, impunity lives on in our Police Department.

#Another shortcoming in the reform effort is the failure of the Police Department to recruit, hire, and promote woefully under-represented minority officers, especially blacks and Latinos, to assure that the force resembles the community it serves. Despite assurances of recruiting in minority areas and the formation of a special diversity advisory group to the Chief, blacks and Latinos are just as under-represented in hiring and promotions to management levels as they were in 2015. One excuse I hear is: they just aren’t interested in being police officers. That is surprising considering that officer salaries start around $55,000. Again, one wonders when will the Board take corrective action?

#Finally, there is the matter of the impunity in the other law enforcement agency of Fairfax County. The Sheriff’s office, with 600 uniformed deputies, is a constitutionally independent unit which did not agree to participate in the reform process. It is the same outfit that in 2015 brutally tasered Natasha McKenna, a mentally ill black prisoner, to death while taking her from her cell to a vehicle for transfer to another jurisdiction. In this case, an official video was released for all to see. An “investigation” by County Police determined that none of the Sheriff’s staff was at fault. The steel blue curtain promptly closed. In this case, reform cannot be mandated by the Board of Supervisors. Reform falls to Sheriff Kincaid.

Do you need more proof the Fairfax County Police are out of control?

Since 2016 at least 30 fleeing drivers have died after police performed a PIT maneuver

Justin Battenfield died when a state trooper bumped his truck at 109 miles per hour, using what is known as a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT.

WASHINGTON — Just as the sun was rising on April 10 near Fort Smith, Arkansas, 34-year-old Justin Battenfield ran a red light in the black Dodge Ram pickup he had purchased a few days before.

For reasons that will never be known, Battenfield, who lived on Social Security payments from a mental disability, refused to stop when a U.S. Forest Service officer tried to pull him over.

It was a decision that cost him his life.

A high-speed chase ensued, and Battenfield began weaving in and out of traffic as an Arkansas State Police trooper picked up the pursuit, the trooper's dash cam video shows.

Ordered to get the truck stopped, the trooper deliberately bumped the truck at a speed of 109 miles per hour, using what is known as a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT.

What happened next was predictable, experts say. The truck flipped and rolled, and Battenfield was killed in the crash.

He was one of at least 30 people who died since 2016 when police performed the PIT maneuver to stop a fleeing vehicle, according to a year-long Washington Post investigation featured Sunday night on "NBC Nightly News."

Combing through news reports and public records, the Post also found hundreds of people who had been injured when police used the PIT. But the actual number of deaths and injuries is unknown, because there is no federal requirement that police departments keep track.

Eighteen of the deaths came after drivers were suspected of minor traffic violations, such as speeding, the Post found. Ten killed were passengers and four were bystanders.

Nearly half of those who died were minorities: nine Black, four Hispanic and one Native American.

When the technique is used successfully, an officer in pursuit uses the cruiser to push the fleeing car’s rear end sideways, sending it into a spin and ending the pursuit, according to the Post.

Experts consulted by the Post and NBC News say the PIT maneuver can be relatively safe and predictable at speeds under 35 miles per hour, but grows increasingly dangerous at higher speeds. Experts say it's also more dangerous when used against vehicles with higher centers of gravity such as SUVs, trucks and minivans, because they are more prone to flipping.

Maria Asucena Carbijal Lopez died in a 2017 police pursuit in North Carolina.Courtesy Brian Hochman

"If used properly, a PIT is a good, safe maneuver," Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina, said. "And if used improperly, at high speeds, in the wrong area, against the wrong vehicle, it's deadly."

An Arkansas State Police spokesman defended his agency's actions to local media after the crash.

"PIT has been used by the Arkansas State Police for no less than the past 18-20 years and continues to be used by state troopers, particularly if innocent lives are being threatened, as was the case involving the Fort Smith incident," spokesman Bill Sadler was quoted as saying at the time.

Sadler did not respond to requests for comment Friday by NBC News.

Linda Hamm, a close family friend who helped raise Justin Battenfield, wondered why the police weren't able to stop him using less violent means — or why they didn't just break off the pursuit and arrest him later.

A temporary license plate on the new truck was in Battenfield's name, she said.

"I don't believe it should have happened," she said. "They had plenty of opportunity to stop him before he got back in town. ... I'm very hurt over it. I just don't understand why they do that rate of speed."

The PIT maneuver was developed for police decades ago in Fairfax County, Virginia, police there say. Officers gave NBC News a demonstration on their track in Chantilly, near Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.

Lt. Jay Jackson, who supervises the training, said Fairfax County police perform the PIT about 13 times a year, and no one has been seriously hurt.

"It all comes down to training," he said. "Here in Fairfax County we do extensive training on the PIT maneuver. They have to do eight successful PITs to even become certified."

The county also has policies that prohibit high speed chases of minor offenders, which means the PIT likely would not be used on someone who ran a red light, Jackson said.

Some departments, including New York State police, have banned the PIT, while others, such as LAPD, forbid it at speeds over 35 miles an hour.

But at least 30 large police agencies allow the technique at any speed, The Washington Post found.

That was the policy of the North Carolina State Police in 2017, when a group of teenagers drove away from a state trooper trying to pull over their minivan.

The trooper bumped the vehicle at at one hundred miles an hour. It flipped and rolled and all four teens were thrown out

Two girls, ages 15 and 16, were killed.

Jonathan Thomas suffered a broken neck. The last thing he remembers before the crash is holding his girlfriend, Maria Lopez, who died.

"There's no justification in taking two lives and almost three," he said.

The trooper was not charged, police said. North Carolina instituted a new policy prohibiting the PIT over 55 miles per hour.

Ken Dilanian is a correspondent covering intelligence and national security for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

Isn't it awful that we need laws like this to protect US...the citizens from those cops who assume you won't throw back?

Virginia to consider reducing penalty for assaulting police

By DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers plan to take up dozens of criminal justice reforms during a special legislative session this week, but one proposal in particular is expected to spark an intense battle: a push to change a law that allows police to charge people with felony assault even if the arresting officers are not seriously hurt.

A bill by Senate Democrats would downgrade the charge of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer from a felony to a misdemeanor.

The proposal is one of an array of reforms drafted in Virginia since the May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police prompted a nationwide protest movement. Lawmakers will also consider bills to ban the use of police chokeholds and no-knock warrants, enhance the ability of courts to expunge criminal records, and eliminate jury sentencing except when requested by defendants.

Sen. Scott Surovell, the chief sponsor of the assault and battery bill, said it would eliminate the current mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail and change the law so the charge can only be brought as a felony if an officer has a visible physical injury. Surovell said he is also considering adding provisions requiring that another officer — not the arresting officer — investigate the circumstances and that a prosecutor approve the charge.

Critics of the current law say police overuse the charge, particularly in cases where they fear the person they arrested will claim police brutality.

“It is a charge that tends to arise whenever officers get into a tussle with someone,” Surovell said. Virginia’s legislature made the charge a felony in 1997, at a time when states around the country and Congress were passing “tough on crime” laws. The enhanced penalty for assaulting law enforcement officers also applies to judges, magistrates, corrections officers, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel.

Marie Dantio, of Alexandria, was arrested in 2013 when she went to a church in the middle of the night to try to see a priest. Dantio, who has mental health issues and was homeless at the time, said she did not immediately respond to Fairfax County police officers who responded to a trespassing call.

Dantio said the officers pushed her to the ground. One officer alleged Dantio injured her hand. Dantio said she spent two months in jail and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in exchange for dropping the felony assault charge. She said she lost her job as a nurse’s aide because of her arrest.

“I feel very sad,” Dantio said. “I know I didn’t do it.”

Lt. Erica Webb, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County police, declined to comment on Dantio’s claims or the extent of the officer’s injury.

“While taking Ms. Dantio into custody, she assaulted an officer, causing an injury,” Webb wrote in an email.

States around the country have a patchwork of laws covering assaults on law enforcement officers. Some states allow the charge to be brought as both a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances, while other states don’t have a separate law, but allow for enhanced penalties for assaults on police, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The proposal to downgrade the charge in Virginia is expected to face fierce opposition from police and Republican lawmakers.

Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said the nationwide protests since Floyd’s killing have shown “unprecedented levels″ of anger toward police.

“We should be doing more to protect officers instead of sending a message that assaulting them is not a serious offense,” Schrad said.

Republican Minority Leader Sen. Tommy Norment said he finds it “unfathomable” that Democrats are calling for reduced penalties, given the repeated violent clashes between police and demonstrators during recent protests in Richmond.

“Very candidly, for those who are advocating it — particularly in the current lawless atmosphere — I wonder what they have been smoking,” he said.

Norment is sponsoring a bill that would increase the mandatory minimum sentence of six months to a year in jail. For assaults on police during a state of emergency, the mandatory minimum would jump to two years.

Stephen Hill was charged by Alexandria police last year as he sat outside a grocery store drinking wine. Hill, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said he was intoxicated at the time and struggling with substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hill said he was moving slowly, intending to follow a police command to leave, when an officer grabbed his arm. He had a broken collarbone, but was not wearing his sling. He said he winced in pain and struggled as the officers handcuffed him behind his back.

Hill said he briefly grabbed onto the officer’s duty belt to stabilize himself. The officer then smashed his face against the side of the patrol car, breaking his nose, he said.

“I had no intention whatsoever to do anything bad,” Hill said

A spokesman for the Alexandria Police Department declined to immediately comment on Hill’s account.

Hill said he agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct because he faced a minimum of six months in jail on the felony assault charge.

“Once the offer was presented, I had no business risking the rest of my life with a felony on my record,” he said.

Calls for Fairfax Police Chief to resign, complaints and police reform being discussed

by Timothy Barber

Fairfax County, VA (ABC7) — Fairfax County’s Public Safety Committee met Tuesday afternoon to talk about police complaints and a study into the department’s use of force.

Presentation were made by the leaders of the Police Civilian Review Panel and Independent Police Auditor Richard Schott.

Professors from the University of Texas at San Antonio also made a presentation about a study they are doing on the agency’s use of force data. The study is looking for potential reasons or causes for racial disparities.

It is expected to be completed with recommendations in early 2021.

The Police Civilian Review Panel processed 29 complaints last year, with two complaints resulting in changes.

So far, the panel has received 18 complaints this year.

The Independent Police Auditor reviewed 22 cases last year.

Last month, Fairfax County Officer Tyler Timberlake was caught on body camera firing a stun gun multiple times at an unarmed Black man who was having some sort of episode in the middle of a street.

Yesterday, Timberlake was indicted on three counts of assault and battery.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano released the following in a statement:

“Today the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office successfully indicted Tyler Timberlake on three counts of assault and battery. This means that we can now look ahead to a jury trial that will give our community an opportunity to weigh in on this important case. I believe the community’s involvement in deciding this matter is essential and is why we pursued and obtained today’s grand jury indictments.”

Police Chief Ed Roessler released the body camera video after the incident and condemned the officer’s actions— a move that sparked calls for his resignation by the local police union.

Brad Carruthers, President of Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 77 said in part; “I would like to convey just how disappointed and disheartened we are with your recent statements and actions. It has become abundantly clear that your political agenda trumps your obligation to being a fair and impartial leader. When you publicly excoriate an officer under your command, characterizing their actions as "disgusting" without even a nascent investigation, you have crossed the line from Chief of Police to that of politician playing dress up.”

In Virginia, records detailing police misconduct and use of force are effectively secret

•           By NED OLIVER / Virginia Mercury

 The white state trooper leaned into the Black driver’s car. “You are going to get your ass whooped,” he said before pulling the man from the car.

Virginia State Police Superintendent Gary Settle offered a swift condemnation of the behavior when video of the incident in Fairfax County was released earlier this month, promising a criminal investigation.

But otherwise, the state police department has refused to release details about the trooper, Charles Hewitt, seen in the footage of the 2019 arrest, declining to say whether he has faced other complaints in the past or to provide reports detailing them.

In many states, such information would be a matter of public record, including Minnesota, where Minneapolis police quickly disclosed that the officer filmed kneeling on George Floyd’s neck had been the subject of 18 prior complaints, two of which resulted in discipline.

Virginia, however, is one of 23 states in which records of police misconduct are effectively confidential, according to a nationwide review by WNYC.

Under Virginia public records laws, police agencies can choose to release records detailing complaints. But in practice, they almost never do. Even prosecutors have said they struggle to obtain personnel records from departments when officers face investigations or allegations of misconduct.

It’s not just police misbehavior that Virginia law shields from public view. Basic information about how officers use force on a day-to-day basis is hard to come by in the state. Only 15 percent of the state’s law enforcement agencies participate in the FBI’s voluntary use-of-force reporting program. And in a survey of the state’s 10 largest cities and counties, only one police department provided use-of-force reports requested by the Virginia Mercury under state open records laws.

Facing questions last week from lawmakers about how troopers are held accountable following complaints, Settle detailed a multi-layered internal review process — variations of which are employed in police departments around the state.

But some lawmakers wondered how those measures square with videos they see of officers brazenly using excessive force or otherwise violating department standards, most recently in the case of Trooper Hewitt.

“Some of the officers look so confident in wrongdoing, it’s as though they know that there will be no repercussions,” Del. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, told Settle. “It looks like the policy and procedure is enough to get rid of folks like that, but nobody does anything about it. … It looks like no one is enforcing it.”

‘Watch the show folks’

In addition to threatening an “ass whooping,” Hewitt is seen describing himself as “a f—ing specimen,” turning to the camera Derrick Thompson was using to film the interaction and saying, “Watch the show, folks.” He then forcefully pulled Thompson, who had been pulled over for an expired inspection sticker, from the car. Officers said they smelled marijuana in the car but found none.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller issued a blanket denial when asked for information about or copies of complaints Hewitt has faced in the past. Geller cited three exemptions in Virginia’s public records laws that she said allowed them to withhold information about Hewitt, saying the department considers them investigative files, personnel records and records of background investigations.

“The department has considered your request,” she wrote, “and opted to exercise its statutory discretion … not to release the documents.”

The decision is not exactly surprising. Police in Virginia rarely choose to release such information. Sometimes, information about police misconduct stays under wraps even when prosecutors pursue criminal charges against officers.

This month, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Collette McEachin acknowledged that her office and the police department had not been publicly announcing when grand juries handed down indictments for criminal misconduct against officers.

She said that would change going forward, but then refused to provide the name of a city police officer who was recently indicted and is scheduled to be tried next month, meaning for the public to find out about the case, they would have to cross-reference hundreds of court records with a roster of the local police department’s more than 700 officers — a list of names that is not readily available.

“You’re welcome to find it,” McEachin told reporters. “The officer's name is not hidden, it’s on the public indictment. … Literally, it’s in this courthouse.”

In response to questions from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Richmond Police Department subsequently identified the officer as Lance Falkena, who is charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.

In other jurisdictions, some commonwealth’s attorneys have lamented that not even they can get records of police misconduct from their local departments. Members of the newly formed Progressive Prosecutors for Justice are backing legislation that would grant them unrestricted access to police reports and disciplinary records.

“One of the things we do not get access to is personnel issues such as complaints for use of force or integrity issues,” said Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell. “As the chief law enforcement officer, we want to be preventative instead of being in a position where we have to respond only after something bad has happened to our communities.”

Use-of-force data often shielded

Residents in some localities have pushed for more transparency not just in misconduct complaints, but how police are using force on a daily basis.

In Norfolk last month, protesters staged a six-day sit-in outside City Hall to demand the city begin releasing reports detailing incidents in which officers shoot, tase, wrestle or otherwise lay hands on someone in the line of duty.