Fairfax County Police Watch: FOP, LP Police release statements on former officer Mark Bishop, charged with embezzlement

Jun 13th, 2014 0 Comment

LaPorte FOP Lodge 54 and the LaPorte Police Department have issued separate press releases regarding the case of Mark Bishop, a former LaPorte officer who recently resigned after being charged with embezzling $7,000 from the FOP Lodge.

FOP Lodge 54 statement

“On 04/09/14 LaPorte FOP Lodge 54 President Robert Metcalf discovered a large discrepancy with the lodge’s account. It was found that then-secretary/treasurer, Mark Bishop, had made many unauthorized transactions using FOP monies from the account. President Metcalf immediately notified the lodge officers and started the proper proceedings. After meeting with the FOP board of Trustees, President Metcalf along with the board of trustees met with LaPorte Police Chief Adam Klimczak. Mark Bishop resigned as FOP secretary/treasurer, and later resigned from the LaPorte Police Department. As a membership of police officers it was determined that the moral and ethical thing was to have the matter investigated. With the recommendation of Chief Klimczak the matter was turned over to the Indiana State Police for investigation.

“President Metcalf stated, ‘It is unfortunate that a fellow police officer and FOP member would commit such a selfish and foolish act when considering he is technically stealing from not only his brothers and sisters, but from the community organizations that the FOP donates the money to.’ The FOP membership understands that police officers are held to a higher standard within the community and Mark Bishop was no exception. From this point FOP Lodge 54 is hoping to recoup the embezzled money to be able to forward the monies for disbursement to the organizations and charities that it has had a longstanding relationship with. As for Mark Bishop, he will have to answer for his actions in a court of law.

“Metcalf said, ‘The mission of the FOP is one that not only promotes and fosters the enforcement of law and order, but to encourage, educate, charitable and social activities within the respective communities they serve. It is important for the community to understand that the actions of one police officer do not reflect those of others who put their life on the line to serve and protect every day, and the FOP is committed to maintaining the high level of standards in which to do so.’ ”

LaPorte Police chief statement

“On 4/14/14 Chief Adam Klimczak met with FOP President Robert Metcalf and the FOP Board of Trustees in regards to an alleged theft by a lodge member that they had discovered. The FOP Leadership reported that Mark Bishop had been using the FOP funds for personal reasons and that several thousand dollars was unaccounted for. After this meeting Chief Klimczak met with Officer Mark Bishop, who resigned his position with the LaPorte City Police Department. Chief Klimczak ordered the criminal investigation of this matter turned over to the Indiana State Police.

“Chief Klimczak stated, ‘’In cases where criminal activity by a member of this agency is alleged, it is standard operating procedure to turn that investigation over to the Indiana State Police. This allows total transparency throughout the investigative process and allows for a complete investigation from an outside agency. The department as a whole was very disappointed in the decisions made by one of our own. It is our hope that the outcome of this unfortunate incident will serve as a reminder that no one is above the laws that the members of this department have sworn to enforce.’ ”

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.