They can handle obnoxious traffic stops, killing citizens and lying about and that's about it

Fairfax Co. police defend response after killing of Fairfax Co. teen Jholie Moussa

By Max Smith

Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler offered a defense Friday against suggestions they did not move quickly enough or spread the word loudly enough after 16-year-old Jholie Moussa disappeared in January. (WTOP/Max Smith)

FARIFAX, Va. — Fairfax County police offered a defense Friday against suggestions they did not move quickly enough or spread the word loudly enough after 16-year-old Jholie Moussa disappeared in January.

She was found dead two weeks later not far from her home, and on Thursday an ex-boyfriend was charged with her murder.

Police did not put out a public notice that she was missing when her family reported it the Saturday of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. Police initially considered her a possible runaway, since she had said she was going to Norfolk for a party the night prior.

“From the moment that we got this call, we did not stop [the effort] to find Jholie,” Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler said Friday, as her family sat in the back of the room.

“We entered her into the missing juvenile system, which then has national and regional reach,” Roessler said.

Police also checked several leads on Moussa’s possible location that weekend, the department said.

“The police department and every other agency did everything possible to find Jholie. We are now doing everything possible to bring justice,” Roessler said.

Nebiyu Ebrahim, who is now 18, is charged with first degree murder. While the case has been filed in juvenile court since he was under 18 when Moussa was killed, Virginia law outlines a process that would allow the case to be shifted to adult court.

“This is yet another horrible, tragic death of a young person from our community that had a bright future,” Roessler said.

Police continue to search for additional evidence.

A dive team searched for more evidence Friday in a retention pond near Woodlawn Park in the Alexandria area where Moussa’s body was found in a shallow grave. The pond is also near Ebrahim and Moussa’s homes.

As I wrote when this silliness started, these cops are too arrogant and out of control to let this go past anything but a PR show when the media was watching

  

Police Body Camera Pilot Program Set To End In Reston District

Researchers are surveying local residents and officers on what they thought of body cameras worn by Fairfax County police.

By Chris Gaudet, Patch Staff

RESTON, VA — A pilot program to test body cameras on Fairfax County police officers ended Friday in the Reston, Mason and Mount Vernon police districts. Officers began wearing the body cameras and undergoing training in mid-February. The program was fully implemented by mid-March.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the 90-day pilot in November, and it was extended to 180 days to better assess its impact. A total of 203 body-worn cameras was distributed to officers in the Reston, Mount Vernon and Mason districts, as well as to Motor Squad officers and Animal Protection officers. Not all officers wore body cameras, and school resource officers did not participate.

The three police districts were selected for the program because of their communities' diversity, the various types of calls for service and incidents resulting in the use of force, the Police Department said.

Under the program, officers wearing body cameras recorded any call for service, law enforcement action, subject stop, traffic stop, search or police service. Officers did not record in certain situations or places like courthouses and medical facilities.

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American University researchers are studying how the program worked. This includes surveying residents and officers on their perceptions of the body cameras. A full analysis could be released early next year.

Like in-car videos, the body camera program is designed to give Fairfax County police a chance to build trust with the community and bolster accountability. Depending on how the pilot works out, the Board of Supervisors could consider a permanent body camera program.