Fairfax County Police Watch: The problem is, the department is morally and ethically corrupt. Fire the chief and bring in some one from outside the system, then things will change

"Go ahead, say one more fucking thing"

Fairfax County Police Reform: More to Be Done

Five years after an officer shot and killed John Geer in Springfield, Implementation Group offers look at successful reforms, and recommends action in other areas.

By Ken Moore

Monday, October 15, 2018

Despite police departments not being “known for embracing change,” said Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner, “we’ve seen Fairfax County and its Police Department achieve substantial and meaningful reform.”

Since the county’s Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission formed after a county officer shot and killed John Geer in 2013, the county has implemented 88 percent (179 of 202) of the actions recommended by the Commission.

“The report of the commission could have remained on the shelf since its release three years ago,” said Niedzielski-Eichner, chair.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova encouraged seven commission members to continue to assist and advise the county and police department as commission recommendations were assessed and implemented.

The informal implementation group issued a Final Report on Fairfax County Police Reform on Oct. 10. The report was undertaken by the group on its own initiative, believing that the community might benefit from an independent discussion of progress.

POLICE REFORMS will increase police accountability, divert those with mental illnesses into treatment instead of incarceration, reduce use of force injuries and death, open public access to incident information, and maintain public confidence in the police department, according to the Implementation Group.

Implemented highlights, according to the FInal Report, issued last week, include:

Diversion First, alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illnesses or developmental disabilities

Revisions to the police department’s Use of Force General Order, with de-escalation as the strategy of first resort when confronted with a threat rather than the use of deadly force

An Independent Police Auditor who reviews investigations of death or serious injury cases

A Civilian Review Panel to review investigations of civilian complaints regarding “abuse of authority” or “serious misconduct” by an officer

A Media Relations Bureau led by a civilian professional who reports directly to the Police Chief

A predisposition to disclose information by making revisions to information-related general orders in order to increase public visibility of the department’s daily activities and performance,

Revisions to policies governing vehicle pursuit that constrains their use and strengthens supervisory oversight

Recruitment of high-caliber personnel that reflects the county’s diverse population

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS have been approved, but are still in the process of being implemented, including a call for full deployment of body-worn cameras and each patrol officer being equipped with “tasers” as less-lethal alternatives to the use of a firearm,.

“Still, we believe more is possible to further build and maintain community trust,” said Niedzielski-Eichner.

The Implementation Group recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the police department to formally respond to findings of an Independent Police Auditor and a Civilian Panel, and to give the public an opportunity to comment on the findings and recommendations. As the group understands, the Chief of Police has chosen not to respond because the Board of Supervisors did not specifically direct him to do so.

The Chief of Police and his command leadership should maintain a “neutral public posture pending an investigation of a police-involved use of force incident,” the report recommends.

THE INDEPENDENT POLICE Auditor’s responsibilities could expand in several areas. The implementation group advocates for: monitoring and reviewing investigations of Sheriff Deputies involved in shootings, in-custody deaths, and any use of force incident resulting in serious injury or death; auditing police use of body worn cameras, providing an annual report to the Board and the public with findings and recommendations; and participation on two internal police review committees, the Use of Force Technical Review Committee and the Vehicle Pursuit Review Committee.

“The Implementation Group urges Chief Roessler and his commanders to sustain FCPD’s reform efforts and, in particular, to unfailingly meet the ‘predisposition to release information’ standard with regard to openness and transparency, and to commit to respond to findings from the Independent Police Auditor and the Civilian Review Panel.”

The report also calls for a data-driven monitoring program that fully leverages data on police use-of-force and other data now being collected in response to the Commission’s recommendations.

Continued public involvement will be key to continuing to build trust with the community, the report says.

“Continued successes and improvements will depend on Chief Roessler, his commanders and continued meaningful collaboration with citizens engaged in implementation,” said group member Randy Sayles.

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.