From Dave Statter911
Supervisor Herrity refuses to let colleagues shift
blame for coverup in John Geer shooting case
Oct 28, 2015
Pat
Herrity did what Sharon Bulova, Penny Gross and the rest of the Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors failed to do for more than two years. Herrity
admitted publicly yesterday (Tuesday) it was the Board of Supervisors that
approved the coverup in the John Geer police shooting case.
Supervisor
Herrity spoke up at a work session after at least two board members tried to
pin the cone of silence tactic on Ray Morrogh, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for
Fairfax County. Herrity said, “The Board made the decision not to disclose.” He
went on to elaborate the type of information that was withheld, which
included the police officer’s name and any description of what occurred.
Herrity also talked about the withholding of information about “discrepancies”,
an apparent reference to the fact that fellow officers who witnessed the
incident thought it was a bad shooting.
Chairman
Bulova jumped into the conversation to remind Herrity they weren’t there to
discuss “who struck John.” This wasn’t exactly true. As long as the focus
was on Ray Morrogh, Bulova was just fine with her fellow supervisors playing
the blame game. But when Herrity chimed in with his reality check, the
topic suddenly became off limits.
It was
an interesting phrase Sharon Bulova used in her effort to divert the
conversation away from Herrity’s candor. That’s because it appears Bulova knew
a lot about who struck John well before any of us did. The public didn’t
learn until January, thanks to significant outside pressure, that it
was Officer Adam Torres who actually struck and killed John Geer with a bullet
in August of 2013.
Herrity
previously criticized the Board of Supervisors for making decisions in the Geer
case behind closed doors. But Herrity’s public statement yesterday appears
to be the first by someone who was in those closed door meetings, to
clearly take full responsibility for the debacle that has harmed the image
of the police department and the county government.
The
continued lack of candor on this issue by Bulova, Gross and most of their
colleagues remains a disgrace. Herrity’s comments are a reminder that instead
of continuing to point fingers at others, the Board of Supervisors needs to
look inward. It’s long past time for Bulova and company to release all
documents and details on the Geer case decision making.
How can
we expect to change the culture that will propel the Fairfax County Police
Department into an age of transparency when the bosses are still covering up
such important information?