Fairfax prosecutors back off on
calling police shooting victim’s daughter to grand jury
By Tom Jackman
In response to concerns raised by her
family, the teenaged daughter of a man shot dead by a Fairfax County police
officer in 2013 will not be called by prosecutors to testify before a special
grand jury, which will begin its investigation in the Fairfax courthouse on
Monday. But she will remain under subpoena and could still be called if the
grand jurors seek her testimony, the family’s lawyer said Thursday.
John B. Geer, 46, was standing in the
doorway of his Springfield townhouse on Aug. 29, 2013, when he was shot dead by
Officer Adam D. Torres. Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh has
subpoenaed about 20 witnesses to appear before a special grand jury which will
decide whether to indict Torres, including police officers who saw the
shooting, Geer’s longtime girlfriend Maura Harrington, and their 19-year-old
daughter Haylea Geer.
Haylea Geer did not witness the
shooting, which occurred after a 42-minute standoff between Geer and the
police. But she did see Geer’s behavior prior to the police arrival, when Geer
was tossing Harrington’s belongings out of the house, police reports show. And
reports show she also told detectives immediately after the shooting that her
father could be abusive when drinking and had once put a gun to her mother’s
head, which Harrington said was false.
[Family slams subpoena of John Geer’s
teen daughter to Fairfax grand jury]
Harrington and her attorney, Michael
Lieberman, were outraged that Haylea Geer was subpoenaed to testify, and Lieberman
sent a letter to Morrogh asking that he reconsider. Morrogh responded with a
letter Thursday saying that Haylea Geer would not have to appear when the grand
jury begins hearing testimony Monday, so long as she was available on another
date if the grand jurors themselves request her.
“The grand jury, itself,” Morrogh
wrote, “can subpoena any person who they deem necessary to their deliberations.
At the outset, it is my duty to begin the process by issuing subpoenas to the
primary witnesses to the events in question. I have done so. At this point I
cannot anticipate what the scope of the grand jury investigation will be.”
Morrogh wrote that he could not
recall the subpoena to Haylea Geer, but would not ask her to testify, though
the grand jury still might.
Lieberman said he was glad to learn
of Morrogh’s decision. “We appreciate the courtesy,” Lieberman said, “and we
don’t think she should ever have to appear. She did not see the incident where
Torres intentionally shot her father.”
John Geer, having learned that
Harrington was moving out of their Springfield home of 24 years, had begun
throwing her belongings outside while their two daughters, then 17 and 12,
watched and then called their mother. Harrington returned home from work and
when Geer continued to toss her items around, she called 911. Torres and
Officer David Neil responded, Geer retreated behind his screen door and,
according to Torres, showed the officers a holstered pistol. Neil and Torres
drew their weapons, and soon Officer Rodney Barnes arrived and began a
40-minute conversation with Geer before Torres suddenly fired one round into
Geer’s chest.
Police reports show Torres claimed
that Geer had suddenly jerked his hands to his waist. Barnes and three other
officers, plus Geer’s father and best friend, all said Geer had his hands near
his head, their statements show.
“John stood there for 45 minutes with
his hands above his head,” Lieberman said, “speaking calmly with Officer
Barnes, saying he didn’t want to die that day and then he was shot in the
chest. Haylea doesn’t have anything to add to that…It is not the job of a
prosecutor to put on a witness that is helpful to the defense. And hopefully,
that’s not where they’re going.”
Morrogh declined to comment on the
letter Thursday. Torres remains on the force, on desk duty, and has not faced
any internal discipline either, though an internal affairs investigation began
in September 2014. Fairfax settled the family’s civil suit in April for $2.95
million.
Tom Jackman is a native of Northern
Virginia and has been covering the region for The Post since 1998.
No comments:
Post a Comment