Fairfax County Police Watch: Deputies: Pickens police officer arrested on child neglect charges

By Casey Vaughn

PICKENS, SC (FOX Carolina) -

The Pickens police chief said one of his officers was fired on Thursday amid a domestic investigation and his arrest.

Chief Rodney Gregory said officer Christopher "Chris" Gilbert, 35, was terminated for violation of city policy related to an incident that unfolded in Travelers Rest on Thursday.

It was determined that Gilbert was in violation for lack of good judgment pertaining to his personal life, which reasonably could create concern and affect the reputation of the city, employees and the community," Gregory said.

Gregory said not long after Gilbert's termination, Greenville County deputies placed him under arrest.

The Greenville County Sheriff's Office responded to Gilbert's residence on Duncan Road in Travelers Rest on Thursday after receiving anonymous tips that there was drug use involving children inside and probation violation, according to deputy Drew Pinciaro.

Pinciaro said vice and narcotics investigators saw methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in plain view and a search warrant was obtained for the home.

Investigators located Gilbert asleep in a bedroom with a toddler nearby, Pinciaro said in a news release.

According to Pinciaro, Gilbert and Meghan Tesner, 22, lived at the home and have a 14-month-old child together.

He said Gilbert has two other children who are 11 and 13 living in the home as well, but were at school at the time of the incident.

Gilbert's service weapon was found lying on the bedroom floor in its holster, according to the Pinciaro.

Pinciaro said DSS was contacted and the children were placed with an caregiver.

Gilbert was charged with three counts of child neglect. Tesner was charged with three counts of child neglect, possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Another woman at the home, identified as 26-year-old Maranda Dickerson, was also arrested and charged with possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to Gregory, Gilbert had been with the police department since July 17, 2013. Chief Lance Crowe confirmed to FOX Carolina Gilbert was an officer with the Travelers Rest Police Department from July 17, 2003 until he resigned on Sept. 4, 2012.

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.