Give this clerk a medal
Police Union President Demanding
Boycott after Officer is Denied Service
The President of Broward County’s
largest police union has called for a national boycott of Sunoco gas stations
following an incident during which a uniformed officer from the Miramar Police
Department was refused service by the sales clerk at one of the company’s
locations.
“On a day when three officers are
slain in Baton Rouge, La., and a fourth is fighting for his life, how can
anyone deny service to a uniformed police officer?” said Broward County PBA
President Jeff Marano.
In his incident report, the
officer, who was wearing his full police uniform, said that on Monday, he walked into the
Sunoco Gas Station located at 1700 S Douglas Road around 2 p.m., and as he was
attempting to get a drink from the refrigerated area, a black male, wearing a
gray shirt with gray pants, walked up to him and asked why they arrested his
“boy”. He asked the man who he was referring to, to which he said, “Ya’ll got
my boy in the back of that car outside the gas station.”
The officer told him that the man
was arrested and he couldn’t give him any further information. The man then
walked away.
The officer then proceeded to
walk towards the cashier in order to pay for his drink. The same individual
that walked up to him earlier was standing behind the cash register without a
name tag and closed his cashier’s window.
The officer then knocked on it in order to get his attention, however,
the man looked at him and didn’t say anything. The officer asked, “Hey can you
ring me up? I need to pay for my Gatorade.” The man then stated “No.” The
officer asked him what he meant. The man said that he wouldn’t ring him up and
said, “You know why.”
The officer asked him again to
ring him up, and the man once again refused.
During the same time, the man
said, “Get out of my way, I need to attend to customers.” The officer looked
behind him and there was a line of four people trying to pay for their items.
He moved out of the way, so they could pay, and after they were done, he again
asked to pay, and was once again refused.
He then asked the man for his
name and his manager or boss’s name, and he replied that he doesn’t have to
give out his name or his boss’s name. The officer asked why he was refusing to
ring up a police officer trying to buy a drink, to which he answered, “Because
I don’t have to, that’s why.”
Marano is demanding the immediate
termination of the Sunoco employee, however, a police search for the owner’s
information was met with negative results.
Be careful. This program is a sham.
Be careful. This program is a
sham. If the cops suspect they screwed up on a domestic violence case, the “Advocates”
allow them to sit in on meetings with the victims.
Domestic violence victims use
Fairfax Co. program to find help
FAIRFAX, Va. — New figures show
that over the past year, domestic violence victims have been using a program in
Fairfax County, Virginia, that is meant to help provide victims withpotentially
lifesaving services.
Under the Lethality Assessment
Program — launched in July 2015 — police officers who respond to domestic
violence incidents sit down with victims and ask them a series of questions
about their situation. Victims deemed to be in a “high-danger” situation are
then given the option of talking on the phone with a victim advocate who can
give them more information about what to do and where to go to receive services
they may need to stay safe.
“The program is intended to
connect victims immediately with victim advocates upon the scene of a law
enforcement incident,” said Sandy Bromley, the countywide domestic violence
coordinator.
According to new figures, police
have dealt with 555 high-danger victims since the program began, or about 46
every month. When given the option to do so, 80 percent of the victims agreed
to speak with an advocate.
“When victims engage in those
services, they are safer,” Bromley said.
The program has also shed light
on the severity of such situations, with 51 percent of high-danger victims
saying they believed their offender might try to kill them.
“Domestic violence in Fairfax
County is a big problem,” said Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler.
He added, “We are just blessed
that every single Fairfax County police officer, along with our advocates, has
embraced this program and we have made a difference.”
Sharon Bulova sells out the people of Fairfax County AGAIN
Fairfax County: Support for
Police Auditor, Civilian Review Panel
Supervisors discuss independent
oversight recommendations from Ad Hoc Commission.
By Tim Peterson
Neither the independent
auditor nor civilian review panel would conduct an independent investigation of
the complaint, but would refer the case to the Chief of Police and he to the
Internal Affairs Bureau for investigation. Or as Board of
Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova put it: “It’s another portal complaints can
come from.”
Details of an independent auditor
for Fairfax County police and a civilian panel to review cases of alleged FCPD
abuse of authority or misconduct are still being hammered out. However there
was general agreement among County Supervisors at the July 19 Public Safety
Committee meeting that they are in favor of moving forward with the recommendations
from the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission to create both entities for
accountability.
The meeting was held to discuss
the recommendations from the commission’s Independent Oversight and
Investigations subcommittee so that a formal board matter accepting them can be
drawn up in time for a vote this fall.
Public Safety Committee chair
Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) opened the meeting with a moment of silence,
and then a perspective on the need for reforms to aspects of the County’s policing.
“We need to be bringing people together,” Cook
said. “How do we further connect the community and our law enforcement, have
that dialogue.”
In reference to creating a
civilian review panel, Cook added Fairfax County would “do what other
jurisdictions are doing, and hopefully do it better.”
TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW of
independent and civilian review of law enforcement, Independent Monitor
Nicholas Mitchell with the City and County of Denver Office of the Independent
Monitor spoke to the crowded Fairfax County Government Center conference room.
Mitchell also spoke as a board member of the National Association for Civilian
Oversight of Law Enforcement.
“There’s the proposition as citizens we’re
obligated to ensure powers are being consistent with the Constitution and our
system of laws,” Mitchell said. “And the proposition with granting of power,
comes respect and accountability to the community.”
Mitchell said there is no one
model for civilian review boards, and that most large cities and an increasing
number of medium and smaller-size cities are forming them. Some are formed
preemptively, others in the wake of critical incidents involving police.
Jack Johnson, chair of the
Independent Oversight subcommittee, reviewed the recommendations word for word.
He explained they were voted through unanimously, including the representatives
from law enforcement and FCPD.
Under the recommendations,
independent oversight of Fairfax County Police would be undertaken by an
independent auditor and civilian panel. The auditor would handle use of force
cases that resulted in death or serious injury. The civilian panel would look
at other alleged FCPD abuse of authority or misconduct. Residents could bring a
complaint directly to the Civilian Review Panel, which would refer the case to
the FCPD for investigation.
In each case, the reviewing party
would not conduct an independent investigation of the complaint, but would
refer the case to the Chief of Police and he to the Internal Affairs Bureau for
investigation.
Or as Board of Supervisors
Chairman Sharon Bulova put it: “It’s another portal complaints can come from.”
Fairfax County Chief of Police
Edwin Roessler said the recommendations are fully supported by his department.
Roessler embraced independent oversight as an important part of trust with the
community. “We’re on the same page. There is no conflict,” he said.
Det. Sean Corcoran, president of
the Fairfax Coalition of Police Local 5000 and a member of the Ad Hoc
Commission, said despite the unanimous commission vote for an auditor and
civilian review board, there are more details that need to be taken into
account before moving forward with the recommendation.
“There’s concern about fiscal costs,” Corcoran
said. “Our internal affairs is strapped as it is right now.”
The Supervisors reviewed a draft
job description for the auditor, who would be a full-time County employee, and
language that would formally set the scope, organization and process of the
Police Civilian Review Panel.
Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield)
echoed Corcoran in calling for the group to take more time dealing with the
“devil in the details” rather than rushing forward with the recommendations.
“Can we get there in a fiscally responsible
way?” Herrity asked. “What’s this going to cost us? In distraction? Time taken?
Someone needs to make some estimates.”
Herrity questioned whether both
an auditor and civilian review panel were necessary, and if there might be a
better way to “get transparency without creating bureaucracy.”
Randy Sayles of Oak Hill was a
member of Ad Hoc Commission Use of Force subcommittee and attended the majority
of the full meetings. He sat in the front row of Tuesday’s meeting.
Sayles said he thought the day’s
discussion did a “good job” capturing the work of the commission on independent
oversight.
With regard to the composition of
the civilian review panel, Sayles said he would like to see language requiring
a law enforcement representative have a seat at the table. They could be
retired, just not from Fairfax County.
“To speak up and give that perspective,” he
said would be an important addition. “That’s a recommendation I’m standing by
to this day.”
The next Public Safety Committee
meeting is scheduled for Sep. 13 at 3 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government
Center, located at 12000 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax.
This a fucking lie made up by the cops to see if it would fly
Outpouring
of support from community to police
EST
LEESBURG, VA. (WUSA9) - The fatal
shootings of three officers in Baton Rouge yesterday has promoted Fairfax
County Police in Reston to postpone a public event tonight called Cops on a
Corner.
But, police stations everywhere
are seeing support from the community.
People have been showering the
Leesburg Police Department with gifts and cards.
They've given flowers, bottles of waters, boxes of
donuts, even a cake.
"It's non-stop," said
Lt. Jeff Dube, public information officer with Leesburg Police. He
says the support makes them feel better about coming in and doing their
jobs knowing the public appreciates them
and "has our back."
The gifts started coming in after
the fatal shootings of five officers in Dallas and more sentiments came in
today since the three officers were killed in Baton Rouge on Sunday.
The largest gift to the Leesburg
police department came in Monday. It's a
$1000 anonymous gift to a local seafood restaurant...to be split into gift
cards for Leesburg's 70 officers.
The police tragedies, on both
sides, highlight the importance of the Junior Police Camp which Leesburg has
been holding it for years.
Master Police Officer Russ Bolden
says the kids see them as normal people, dads, brothers, sons, daughters. He hopes those connections will carry through
into their adult lives.
Linnea Delhoyo has made sure each
of her kids come to the camp. She said
that she know police care for them, and wants her children to care about them.
Just… don’t make eye contact
Alarming Racial, Disciplinary Data in Use of Force Report
Blacks make up only 8 percent of
the population, but 41 percent of the subject in use of force incidents, says
Fairfax County Police report.
Burke, VA
By Skip Wood (Patch Staff) - July
19, 2016 7:18 pm ET
A study released Monday by the
Fairfax County Police Department examining use of force by police shows that of
of 539 such incidents examined in 2015, only one resulted in disciplinary
action -- a verbal warning.
But the study, done in part
because of the fatal shooting of John Greer by police while standing in the
doorway of his home in 2013, also revealed a more eye-opening bit of data.
Namely, that black suspects
accounted for 41 percent of the use-of-force incidents, compared to 52 percent
being white and 4 percent being Hispanic.
Black residents make up just 8
percent of the county's population.
In a statement Tuesday, the
police department noted, "The data sets are intended to engage a
discussion between the great community we serve and the leadership of the
Department as we continue to re-engineer our use of force training, policies,
and culture."
Among other findings:
• Residents
had no weapons in 98 percent of the incidents.
• Police
fired a gun just once in the incidents.
• Physical
contact was the most common type of force.
In the Greer case, former Fairfax
cop Adam Torres was sentenced in June to a year in jail after pleading guilty
to involuntary manslaughter.
Fairfax police release use of force data as board takes up civilian oversight
By Max Smith | @amaxsmithJuly 19, 2016 5:15 am
Fairfax County police have not
identified a suspect or motive in the death of Tarreece Sampson (WTOP/Dave
Dildine)
WASHINGTON — As Fairfax County
leaders prepare to take up new civilian oversight for police in the wake of the
2013 shooting of John Geer in the doorway of his Springfield home, the police
department has released information about more recent use of force incidents
and the racial disparities in whom that force is used against.
Of 539 use of force incidents
investigated by at least one supervisor in 2015, a new report released late
Monday shows 57 proceeded to administrative investigations. In one of those
cases, a use of force violation was found, and the report shows that an oral
reprimand was issued.
Police say the use of force in
2015 was predominantly against males, with just 89 of the 539 incidents
involving females. The report says 282 of the incidents (52 percent) involved
subjects police identified as white, 222 subjects identified as black (41
percent), 18 identified as Hispanic (4 percent) and 17 identified as Asian (3
percent).
Only 8 percent of Fairfax
County’s 1.1 million residents are estimated to be black, 16 percent are
estimated to be Hispanic and 63 percent are estimated to be white.
Reflecting the demographics of
the department as a whole, the officers involved in use of force incidents were
largely white men, representing 740 of the 985 officers involved in incidents.
Of sworn Fairfax County police officers, 83 percent are white, 7 percent are
black and 5 percent identify as Hispanic.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Board
of Supervisors’ Public Safety Committee will take up recommendations for
increased civilian oversight of the police department issued by a commission
formed after a police officer shot and killed Geer and information in the case
was slow to emerge.
The committee, which all board
members typically attend, has a draft document before it that would create a
new, independent police officer who would report to the Board of Supervisors in
cases of police use of force that lead to serious injury or death, and a new
civilian review panel that would respond to community concerns about “alleged
incidents of abuse of authority.” The draft document would not endorse the
recommendation for an ongoing police commission like the one formed in the wake
of Geer’s death.
That draft is far from final,
though, as several supervisors expressed concerns about some of the
recommendations last week.
Supervisor John Cook, who chairs
the Public Safety Committee, said the Tuesday meeting should focus on what the
civilian oversight panel would be responsible for, and how members would be
appointed.
In addition to members of the
commission that made the recommendations, representatives from the National
Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement are expected to be
included in the meeting to offer advice.
Supervisor Pat Herrity was among
those raising financial concerns about the cost of parallel oversight between
the auditor and review commission.
“I’m trying to figure a way to
get the transparency we’re looking for and the review we’re looking for without
creating two new bureaucracies instead of one,” Herrity said at the board’s
meeting last week.
In the separate police department
report released Monday, the agency said the largest number of disciplinary
actions last year were tied to operation of police vehicles. Only six officers
resigned or were fired in connection with disciplinary actions: one for custody
of property, one over ethics and integrity, one for insubordination and three
over standard of conduct.
The most use of force reports
came out of the Mount Vernon (87) and Mason districts (85), followed by the
McLean District (64) and Criminal Investigations Bureau (61).
Separate from use of force
incidents, the report also includes information on the recorded demographic
breakdowns of “field contacts,” in which officers interact with people in the
community in matters such as complaints, suspicious people or vehicles, or
warning tickets.
In those instances, the
department said, about two-thirds of the interactions were with males while
one-third were with females. Two-thirds of the interactions were with people
officers identified as white, 25 percent with people officers identified as
black, 5 percent with people officers identified as Asian and 2 percent with
people officers identified as Hispanic.
Fairfax County favors independent police reviews amid concern over black arrests
The Washington Post July 19th,
2016
Fairfax County's Board of
Supervisors on Tuesday signaled support for creating more civilian scrutiny of
instances where officers use force, a day after a report revealed that African
Americans in the county are disproportionately affected in such cases.
Proposals to create a civilian
review panel for police abuse investigations and to hire an independent auditor
in cases involving death or serious injury stem from recommendations made by a
police advisory commission created in response to controversy over the 2013
fatal shooting of an unarmed Caucasian man.
However, tensions nationwide over
how African Americans are treated by the police spilled into a Tuesday meeting
about the proposals, which the county board will likely vote on in the fall.
"Black lives matter!"
an activist shouted, while others held signs that referred to the report
released this week that showed more than 40 percent of use-of-force cases in
the county last year involved African Americans, who represent about 8 percent
of Fairfax's population of 1.1 million residents.
Supervisor John C. Cook
(R-Braddock) chaired the meeting, which started with a moment of silence to
honor police officers killed this month in Dallas and Baton Rouge. At one point
he threatened to have the activists kicked out.
"We won't stand for
that," Cook told the activists.
County officials were already
rattled by the controversy surrounding the death of John Geer, a Springfield
man shot by a county police officer at the doorway of his home three years ago.
A Fairfax County officer pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April.
The ongoing protests over police
shootings around the country underscored their support for more oversight,
several county officials said.
A proposal to create a civilian
review panel would give that appointed body authority to refer complaints of
abuse by officers to county police and to review those investigations for
thoroughness. The panel could also request a follow-up investigation if the
first one appeared problematic.
Meanwhile, a proposal to hire an
independent auditor would allow that person to monitor police department
investigations into cases that caused death or serious injury, and to report on
cases where there were questions about whether police acted appropriately.
Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth
(D-Providence) said the new oversight would help assure residents that
officials are serious about reviewing instances where officers use force or are
accused of misconduct.
"It's just to be sure that
we have done as much as we can to be as fair as possible," Smyth said.
Fairfax County police chief Edwin
C. Roessler Jr., who attended the meeting, said such external review is
"greatly needed in the law enforcement profession."
"We need to restore the
confidence and public trust from our community members to be effective as a
community," he said.
Some county police officers,
however, criticized the ideas.
Joseph Woloszyn, president of the
Police Benevolent Association of Virginia, said the Board of Supervisors
already had oversight of the department, so there was no need to add the
auditor or civilian review panel.
He questioned whether civilian
review panel members would have the policing expertise to properly review
complaints and whether their decisions might be subject to political pressures
because they would be appointees.
"Depending on the
qualifications for picking the auditor or civilian review panel, that could
make policing more politicized in the county," Woloszyn said. "Look
at panels like this in Chicago, Baltimore and Atlanta. It hasn't worked out so
well."
The ideas for increased oversight
are among 202 reforms proposed in response to the Geer shooting that county
officials estimate would cost $35 million to implement.
Many of the changes — including
requiring police cadets to undergo training in de-escalating hostile situations
before learning to fire their weapons — are already underway.
Last month, the board debated
heavily over whether to release the name of an officer involved in an incident
causing death or serious injury within 10 days before endorsing that policy.
A decision to require county
police officers to wear body cameras was put off until the fall of 2017 to give
county officials time to research concerns over privacy related to those
devices.
Tuesday's discussion came a day
after Fairfax County police released their first comprehensive assessment of
the use of force by its officers, another move for increased transparency that
stems from the Geer controversy.
The accounting concluded that 985
officers had been involved in using force on 539 occasions in 2015.
Physical contact, stun guns and
vehicle intercepts were the most common types of force deployed. An officer
discharged a firearm in one case.
The data revealed that in 98
percent of use-of-force cases, civilians were unarmed. Police officials found a
violation of department policy in just one of the cases reviewed in 2015.
The report also found that
African Americans civilians were disproportionately involved in use-of-force
cases and field stops. More than 40 percent of use-of-force cases and 25
percent of field stops involved black residents.
Shirley Ginwright, the president
of the Fairfax County NAACP, said she was surprised by the sheer number of
use-of-force incidents in the county last year and the proportion that involved
African Americans.
"It is a concern when a
disproportionate number of these cases involve minorities," Ginwright
said. "We are working to see how we can correct things like these in
high-crime areas."
Roessler said the percentage of
African Americans involved in use-of-force cases does not indicate that black
residents are being targeted by police.
"We as a department are
going where the crime is," he said. "Obviously, I will not tolerate
any profiling or discrimination. These calls are all generated through
engagement with the community."
With pressure mounting to better
handle police incidents in Fairfax, some supervisors were nonetheless worried
about the cost of doing so.
"I want to understand what
the rush is to get this done," said Supervisor Pat Herrity
(R-Springfield,) who expressed concern about the cost of hiring an auditor and
the possibility of creating more work for police department officials who would
have to respond to requests from the civilian review panel.
"We're not rushing to
address a problem, we're rushing to address the issue of accountability and
transparency, and we want to do it right," he said.
This article was written by
Antonio Olivo;justin jouvenal
Fairfax poised to take historic step by creating an independent auditor for police complaints
By Tom Jackman July 20
Fairfax County police Chief Edwin
C. Roessler Jr. said he enthusiastically supports civilian involvement in
police misconduct investigations. (Tom Jackman/The Washington Post)
For a county that has long stood
beneath a legal cone of silence when it came to police shootings, and enjoyed
the relative absence of media scrutiny that is focused on cities but not
suburbs, Fairfax County is on the verge of a historic, 180-degree change of
direction. It is poised to hire a full-time independent auditor who will
“participate in and monitor all Internal Affairs investigations” of police
shootings, in-custody deaths and all other police-involved deaths or serious
injuries, the Fairfax Board of Supervisors indicated in a hearing Tuesday.
Unless there’s good cause not to,
“the auditor shall issue a public report with respect to each reviewed
investigation,” as recommended by the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission
formed last year, “within 60 days of the Auditor’s access to the complete
Internal Affairs file,” and the auditor “shall have full access to the criminal
investigation file as well.” And, “the auditor shall also issue a public report
annually concerning the thoroughness, completeness, accuracy, objectivity and
impartiality of the internal affairs investigations reviewed by the auditor.”
This is huge. But there’s more.
For cases that don’t involve
death or serious injury, the county is ready to create a nine-member Civilian
Review Panel, which will take complaints from citizens, forward them to the
police for investigation, and then review the outcome of the cases and hold
public hearings if needed. The civilian panel would not do its own
investigations, but it would receive a report from the police on the alleged
misconduct and any findings, and the board could then hold public hearings,
with both the complainant and the officer allowed to present evidence. “Command
staff and internal affairs investigators shall appear before the panel upon
request,” the Ad Hoc recommendations being considered by Fairfax state, and the
county “shall produce any documents or other materials … as requested by the
panel.”
The Board of Supervisors
discussed and seemed to embrace virtually all of this in a meeting Tuesday,
though they will not vote until September on making it happen. But it is a
dramatic move to increase transparency and accountability in Fairfax County,
and most importantly it was wholeheartedly endorsed by Fairfax police Chief
Edwin C. Roessler Jr. Both Roessler and the board endured great criticism for
the extensive secrecy surrounding the August 2013 police slaying of John B.
Geer in Springfield. If Fairfax truly does create an independent auditor and a
civilian review panel, those would be the most significant positives to emerge
from the Geer case, which resulted in Fairfax paying a $2.95 million wrongful
death settlement and watching one of its officers plead guilty to involuntary
manslaughter nearly three years after the shooting.
It’s also an important step in
repairing relationships, in at least one large community — Fairfax’s population
of 1.1 million is bigger than most cities — at a time when police-public
relations are in utter turmoil nationwide. Whether it’s police-involved
shootings or police officers being targeted themselves, the preferred model of
police as respected protectors of the peace has been turned upside down. Here
is one large, meaningful step that police departments can take to reestablish
faith that they are a part of a community, not simply its armed guardians.
“There are about 18,000 police
departments in this country,” Roessler said. “What we are doing here truly
needs to be done in the other 17,999 law enforcement agencies around the
country.”
Roessler’s full-throated
endorsement of the auditor and civilian panel, along with the retirement of
long-time supervisor Gerald Hyland (D-Mount Vernon), who wouldn’t even hold
committee hearings on public safety, created the path to serious reform in
Fairfax. Roessler’s comments Tuesday were almost surprising in their enthusiasm
for having outsiders poke their noses in what has traditionally been
police-only business: investigating police misconduct. But he has said he was
committed to making Fairfax more engaged with its citizens, and here was some
solid proof.
“It’s very clear,” Roessler said,
the auditor would objectively review all death and serious use of force cases,
and the civilian panel will look at “abuse of authority” cases. “We agree with
that. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Transparency is what we needed, and I
fully support it as chief. It’s something we need to move forward. This is
greatly needed in the law enforcement profession.”
Now keep in mind that this is a
department that did not release the name of John Geer’s shooter or any details
of the case for 16 months, and then only after ordered by a Fairfax judge. A
dash-cam video of the 2009 police killing of motorist David Masters on Route 1
was not released until 2015. In 2006, when two Fairfax officers were shot and
killed at a police station, no details of the attack were released for seven months.
But after the details of the Geer
case were finally made public in early 2015, along with revelations that
Fairfax police had not cooperated with state and federal prosecutors, and that
Fairfax prosecutor Raymond Morrogh’s attempts to meet with the Fairfax board
had been rebuffed, board Chairman Sharon Bulova formed the Ad Hoc commission to
look at all of the police policies and practices. Committees were formed on use
of force, hiring, mental health, communications and independent oversight. The independent
oversight committee issued its report and recommendations for an auditor and a
civilian review panel last October, and some thought that might be the last of
it.
Instead, Roessler met with
committee chairman Jack Johnson, and all of the committee chairs, and embraced
huge sections of each report. “We are on the same page,” Roessler said Tuesday
of his meetings with the five committee chairs. “There is no conflict.”
Tuesday’s developments were
“amazing to me,” said Nicholas Beltrante, a retired Wahington police officer
who has been agitating for civilian oversight since the Masters killing, and
who formed the Virginia Citizens Coalition for Police Accountability in 2010.
“I just never thought it would occur,” said Beltrante, who was on the Ad Hoc commission.
“The citizens have never been given a fair deal regarding these matters.” He is
not disbanding the citizens coalition yet.
There are still rivers to cross.
No one had an estimated cost for a full-time auditor and staff. In Denver,
where Nicholas E. Mitchell serves as independent monitor for the city and
county police, the staff is 14 and the annual budget is $1.4 million. But
Mitchell said his office had been able to change the way police used body
cameras and reduced the city’s liability, and they also changed the policy on
shooting at moving vehicles and for accountability in the county jail.
The civilian review panel would
have no investigative powers prior to the police reviewing and concluding a
case. “It is not intended to be another separate investigation,” Johnson said.
He and others suggested the panel would be another “portal” for citizens to
file complaints, and a way to get accountability after they are handled by the
police. “A segment of our community does not trust the police,” Roessler
acknowledged Tuesday. “This provides them an unbiased alternative.”
Roessler said the new civilian
posts and reports would be more work for him, but “that’s an extra loop I’m
happy to take on.” He even said, “We need more complaints, in order to build a
stronger relationship with the community.” There are costs, but “I can’t put a
price tag on that,” the chief said, “the ability is to build trust with the
community and that we take this seriously.”
The police unions are not happy,
though Sean Corcoran, head of the Fairfax Coalition of Police Local 5000, sat
on the committee which unanimously recommended the auditor and civilian panel.
“For me, the importance is in getting these critical incident investigations
right,” Corcoran said. He noted that it was odd that the Fairfax prosecutor
doesn’t have its own investigator, which the committee recommended and Morrogh
would have to find money for somewhere. Corcoran said he was concerned about
the costs, and “I’d rather see [the money] go towards programs to help
officers.”
Joseph Woloszyn, head of the
local Patrolmen’s Benefit Association chapter, asked, “Which of these are we
not doing here in Fairfax County? That’s my question.” He was met with silence.
The answer is there are currently
no civilians involved in any police misconduct investigation in Fairfax County.
This creates the suspicion that police are protecting their own. This suspicion
was made worse when Roessler, on the advice of county attorneys, withheld
personnel files from Morrogh and federal prosecutors in the Geer case. The new
proposals would put non-police participants in every critical investigation and
require reports about them to the public, while still allowing experienced
police investigators to run the investigations. That’s what is not being done
now. And doing it
Fairfax Co. leaders brainstorm ways for civilian review of police complaints
By Kristi King | @KingWTOPJuly 19, 2016 10:00 pm
WASHINGTON — Fairfax County is working to establish formal procedures for responding to citizen complaints against police.
Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee members at a meeting on Tuesday heard and discussed recommendations for two new levels of review.
One would create a full-time auditor position to review police policies and investigations of police-involved incidents that result in someone being hurt or killed. Secondly, a civilian review panel would respond to complaints of alleged abuse of authority.
“This is not another investigation. This is not a civil service hearing,” said Jack Johnson, Chair of the Independent Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
“This is a review by a civilian panel of the outcome of investigation by the Fairfax County Police Department.”
Public Safety Committee members will continue to hash out details for the proposals on Sept. 13. The full board may consider the measures Sept. 20.
Board members say their goal is to ensure there’s transparency and accountability in investigations of citizen complaints against police.
This new effort is inspired in part by criticism that there were delays in the investigation into the fatal shooting of John Geer in 2013. Former Fairfax County police officer Adam Torres was indicted on a second-degree murder charge for shooting Geer who was unarmed and standing in the doorway of his Springfield home.
Two protestors help up signs at the meeting and occasionally interrupted county supervisors by shouting “black lives matter” and “what about the rights of people in the community?”
Fairfax County police meeting calls for oversight, accountability in officer practices
BY JEFF GOLDBERG, ABC7 TUESDAY,
JULY 19TH 2016
Fairfax County Police Chief Ed
Roessler says he and his department are committed to greater transparency, and
admits that he and others can do better. In a meeting Tuesday at the Fairfax
County Government Center, the chief expressed support for the findings of the
Ad Hoc review commission calling for greater oversight and accountability of
police practices in Fairfax County.
The commission was created in the
wake of the fatal police shooting of John Geer nearly three years ago. Last
month, officer Adam Torres was sentenced to a year in jail for the killing.
On Tuesday night, Chief Roessler
released findings from all the departments “use-of-force cases” in 2015, a
total of 539 incidents. The report reveals that more than 40 percent of the
use-of-force cases involved African-Americans, who only make up 8 percent of
the county’s population. The chief says the disparity in the numbers is a
problem that must be addressed and improved upon.
In September 2016, the county
board will consider hiring an auditor to oversee and review practices and
incidents of the police department.
Fairfax County favors independent police reviews amid concern over black arrests
By Antonio Olivo and Justin
Jouvenal July 19
Fairfax County’s Board of
Supervisors on Tuesday signaled support for providing more civilian scrutiny of
police officers’ use of force, a day after a report revealed that African
Americans in the county are disproportionately affected in such cases.
Proposals to create a civilian
review panel for police abuse investigations and to hire an independent auditor
in cases involving death or serious injury stem from recommendations made by a
police advisory commission created in response to controversy over the 2013
fatal shooting of an unarmed white man.
However, tensions nationwide over
how African Americans are treated by the police spilled into a Tuesday meeting
about the proposals, on which county supervisors will probably vote in the
fall.
“Black lives matter!” an activist shouted,
while others held signs that referred to the report released this week that
showed more than 40 percent of use-of-force cases in the county last year
involved African Americans, who account for about 8 percent of Fairfax’s
population of 1.1 million residents.
Supervisor John C. Cook
(R-Braddock) chaired the meeting, which started with a moment of silence to
honor police officers killed this month in Dallas and Baton Rouge. At one
point, he threatened to have the activists kicked out.
“We won’t stand for that,” Cook
told the activists.
County officials were already
rattled by the controversy surrounding the death of John Geer, a Springfield
man shot by a county police officer at the doorway of his home three years ago.
A Fairfax County officer pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April.
The ongoing protests over police
shootings around the country underscored their support for more oversight,
several county officials said.
A proposal to create a civilian
review panel would give that appointed body authority to refer complaints of
abuse by officers to county police and to review those investigations for
thoroughness. The panel could also request a follow-up investigation if the
first one appeared problematic.
Meanwhile, a proposal to hire an
independent auditor would allow that person to monitor police department
investigations into cases that caused death or serious injury, and to report on
cases where there were questions about whether police acted appropriately.
Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth
(D-Providence) said the new oversight would help assure residents that
officials are serious about reviewing instances where officers use force or are
accused of misconduct.
“It’s just to be sure that we
have done as much as we can to be as fair as possible,” Smyth said.
Fairfax County’s police chief,
Edwin C. Roessler Jr., who attended the meeting, said such external review is
“greatly needed in the law enforcement profession.”
“We need to restore the
confidence and public trust from our community members to be effective as a
community,” he said.
Some county police officers,
however, criticized the ideas.
Joseph Woloszyn, president of the
Police Benevolent Association of Virginia, said the Board of Supervisors
already had oversight of the department, so there was no need to add an auditor
or a civilian review panel.
He questioned whether civilian
review panel members would have the policing expertise to properly review
complaints and whether their decisions might be subject to political pressures
because they would be appointees.
“Depending on the qualifications
for picking the auditor or civilian review panel, that could make policing more
politicized in the county,” Woloszyn said. “Look at panels like this in
Chicago, Baltimore and Atlanta. It hasn’t worked out so well.”
The ideas for increased oversight
are among 202 reforms proposed in response to the Geer shooting that county officials
estimate would cost $35 million to implement.
Many of the changes — including
requiring police cadets to undergo training in de-escalating hostile situations
before learning to fire their weapons — are already underway.
Last month, the board debated
heavily over whether to release the name of an officer involved in an incident
causing death or serious injury within 10 days. The board finally endorsed the
policy.
A decision to require county
police officers to wear body cameras was put off until the fall of 2017 to give
county officials time to research concerns over privacy related to those
devices.
Tuesday’s discussion came a day
after Fairfax County police released their first comprehensive assessment of
the use of force by county officers, another move for increased transparency
that stems from the Geer controversy.
The accounting concluded that 985
officers had been involved in using force on 539 occasions in 2015.
Physical contact, stun guns and
vehicle intercepts were the most common types of force deployed. An officer
discharged a firearm in one case.
The data revealed that in 98
percent of use-of-force cases, civilians were unarmed. Police officials found a
violation of department policy in just one of the cases reviewed in 2015.
The report also found that
African American civilians were disproportionately involved in use-of-force
cases and field stops. More than 40 percent of use-of-force cases and 25
percent of field stops involved black residents.
Shirley Ginwright, the president
of the Fairfax County NAACP, said she was surprised by the number of
use-of-force incidents in the county last year and the proportion that involved
African Americans.
“It is a concern when a
disproportionate number of these cases involve minorities,” Ginwright said. “We
are working to see how we can correct things like these in high-crime areas.”
Roessler said the percentage of
African Americans involved in use-of-force cases does not indicate that black
residents are being targeted by police.
“We as a department are going
where the crime is,” he said. “Obviously, I will not tolerate any profiling or
discrimination. These calls are all generated through engagement with the
community.”
With pressure mounting to better
handle police incidents in Fairfax, some supervisors were nonetheless worried
about the cost of doing so.
“I want to understand what the
rush is to get this done,” said Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield,) who
expressed concern about the cost of hiring an auditor and the possibility of
creating more work for police department officials who would have to respond to
requests from the civilian review panel.
“We’re not rushing to address a
problem. We’re rushing to address the issue of accountability and transparency,
and we want to do it right,” he said.
