UN panel slams US for police brutality, torture, botched executions

A UN report has condemned the United States for violating the terms of an international anti-torture treaty. The panel took Washington to task for police brutality, military interrogations, and capital punishment protocols.

“The Committee is concerned about numerous reports of police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials,” the paper released by the UN Committee Against Torture says, adding that in particular this brutality is seen against persons belonging “to certain racial and ethnic groups, immigrants and LGBTI individuals.”

The document was released on Friday, just days after the contentious decision of a Missouri grand jury not to indict a white officer accused of shooting Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen. The decision triggered a wave of protests nationwide.

Although the report didn’t specifically mention the events in Ferguson, Mike Brown’s parents met with the committee to discuss their son’s case in Geneva earlier this month.

 The UN watchdog expressed “deep concern at the frequent and recurrent police shootings or fatal pursuits of unarmed black individuals.”

The 10-person panel, which periodically reviews the records of the 156 countries which ratified the Convention Against Torture – a non-binding international human rights treaty – cited mounting concerns over “racial profiling by police and immigration offices, and growing militarization of policing activities.” f the "

 The committee called on US authorities to “prosecute persons suspected of torture or ill-treatment and, if found guilty, ensure that they are punished in accordance with the gravity of their acts.”

“We recommend that all instances of police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officers are investigated promptly, effectively and impartially by an independent mechanism,” said panel member, Alessio Bruni, at a news conference in Geneva.

Urging for tougher laws to define and ban torture, the committee called on Washington to reevaluate the treatment of detainees at the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention facility, which currently houses 148 prisoners.

“The Committee is particularly disturbed at reports describing a draconian system of secrecy surrounding high-value detainees that keeps their torture claims out of the public domain.”

In addition, the committee criticized the recent spate of botched executions, especially in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Ohio, citing reported cases “of excruciating pain and prolonged suffering that procedural irregularities have caused to condemned prisoners in the course of their execution.”

The UN body further highlighted “continued delays in recourse procedures which keep prisoners sentenced to death in a situation of anguish and incertitude for many years.”

“The Committee notes that in certain cases such a situation amounts to torture in so far as it corresponds to one of the forms of torture (i.e. the threat of imminent death) contained in the interpretative understanding made by the State party at the time of ratification of the Convention.”

The report urges US authorities to establish “a moratorium on executions with a view to abolish the death penalty” and “to commute the sentences of individuals currently on death row.”

US activists welcomed the findings as a call to action for the federal government.

“This report - along with the voices of Americans protesting around the country this week - is a wake-up call for police who think they can act with impunity,” said Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as quoted by Reuters. 

This is the future problem America will have with its cops (that and "lost" cameras)

Oakland cops disciplined 24 times for failing to turn on body-worn cameras

Punishments ranged from "written reprimand" to suspensions of a few days.

OAKLAND, Calif.—Over the last two years, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) has disciplined police officers on 24 occasions for disabling or failing to activate body-worn cameras, newly released public records show. The City of Oakland did not provide any records prior to 2013, and the OPD did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.

The records show that on November 8, 2013 one officer was terminated after failing to activate his camera. Less than two weeks later, another resigned for improperly removing the camera from his or her uniform. However, most officers received minor discipline in comparison.

Obama wants to buy 50,000 body cams for police, monitor military gear handouts

An extra $263 million in funding would be used toward training cops to use the tech.

The OPD has used Portable Digital Recording Devices (PDRDs) since late 2010. According to the department's own policy, patrol officers are required to wear the cameras during a number of outlined situations, including detentions, arrests, and serving a warrant. At present, the city has about 700 officers.

This year the issue of body-worn cameras on police officers came to the fore after the tragic killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City at the hands of local cops. In the aftermath of grand jury decisions to not indict the officers responsible, the Obama administration released a review of how local law enforcement agencies use equipment, proposing that the federal government spend $263 million over three years to "expand training for law enforcement agencies (LEAs)" and "add more resources for police department reform." The review included a proposal to dedicate $75 million over three years to buy up to 50,000 body cameras for local LEAs.

Because body-worn cameras are still relatively new, there aren't any published studies on rates of non-compliance, according to John DeCarlo, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the former chief of police of Branford, Connecticut.

"You may have a legitimate excuse [for not turning it on], but if it was nefarious, that's a different story," DeCarlo told Ars.

What happened on November 22, 2013?

In Oakland, the cameras were acquired largely as the result of a federal lawsuit alleging abuse by four officers known as "The Riders." In 2003, the City of Oakland and the OPD agreed with the plaintiffs to a settlement, which required the authorities to pay more than $10 million in fines and impose numerous reforms. The four officers were subsequently fired from the OPD, although one remains a federal fugitive after fleeing to Mexico. None of the other three officers were convicted.

Promises to get data retention, privacy policies in place later.

The new data shows that the most common punishment for officers who did not comply with their own department’s policy was a "written reprimand" or a suspension of one to three days. One officer was even suspended for 20 days in December 2013 due to an allegation of failing to activate his body-worn camera.

On November 22, 2013, there were five separate incidents where officers allegedly "improperly removed" or "failed to initiate their PDRD." One of those officers, none of whom were named, appears to have resigned as a result of the incident. Ars has filed another public records request to learn more about these incidents.

Watching the watchers

As a result of the city’s settlement in the Riders case (formally known as the Negotiated Settlement Agreement), an independent monitor is required to prepare a quarterly report detailing the OPD’s compliance record. Its most recent report, dated October 30, 2014, notes that in three cases, PDRD "recordings directly contradicted" statements made by witness or complainants against OPD officers.

However the report added:

During our last review, we found that there were no cases in which the failure to activate a PDRD went unaddressed. There was one case, however, in which the discipline was sufficient but follow-up was needed. In that case the officer had failed to activate his PDRD on three separate occasions. While we felt that the discipline imposed was adequate, we commented that the officer’s supervisor should more closely monitor his activities. A key responsibility of sergeants is to ensure that the officers they are supervising are complying with OPD policies. In the future, the supervisor could easily compare and review the officer’s activities with his PDRD recordings to ensure that he is in compliance with OPD policies. An additional benefit of review of PDRD recordings would be that the sergeant would be able to evaluate the officer’s tactics and interactions with citizens. We learned that OPD has followed up with this officer to ensure that he remains in compliance with the PDRD policy. His current supervisor conducts monthly audits of his PDRD use and submits audit forms up his chain of command.

On November 18, 2014, OPD supervisors were reminded that they are required under department policy to conduct random reviews of PDRD footage.

Cops use taser on woman while she recorded arrest of another man

"You a dumb bitch," video captures cop saying after yanking victim from car.

by David Kravets – 

A 36-year-old Baltimore woman claims she was tased by police and arrested while filming the arrest of a man with her mobile phone, according to a lawsuit to be served on the Baltimore City Police Department as early as Thursday.

Video of the March 30 melee surfaced online this week. Police erased the 135-second recording from the woman's phone, but it was recovered from her cloud account, according to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City lawsuit (PDF), which seeks $7 million.

Kianga Mwamba was driving home from a family gathering in March. Stopped in traffic, she began filming the nearby arrest of a man who she says was kicked by police.

"You telling me I can't record," the woman says on the video as police tell her to move on.

"I'll park. I'll park. I'll park," the woman is heard saying in her own recording.

All of a sudden an officer says, "Out of the car. Out of the car."

She was yanked out. "He burning me. He burning me," the woman is heard screaming.

The lawsuit comes as at least one state, Illinois, moves to ban the recording of the police amid calls across the nation for cops to be equipped with body cameras to help prevent future police scuffles resulting in deaths. President Barack Obama has also weighed in on the issue, announcing last week that the administration would provide $75 million in funding to police departments to purchase body cameras. Even before Obama's announcement, local police departments were gobbling them up as fast as they could in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Missouri death of Michael Brown.

Mwamba was arrested on charges of assault for allegedly trying to run over two officers. Charges were dropped, and she suffered cuts and bruises.

At the end of the tape, an officer says, "You a dumb bitch, you know that?"

"What did I do?" she asks.

"You just tried to run over an officer," the officer responds.

While in custody, she gave her phone to an officer to show the video that she didn't try to run over anybody. The video was allegedly erased from the phone in what her attorney, Joshua Insley, described in a telephone interview as a "coverup."

The police department said in a statement that the language the officer used was "both offensive and unacceptable."

"The video does not capture enough information to draw definitive conclusions about what transpired before, during, and after the arrest," the department said. "What is clear is that the language used is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

The suit, filed last week, said the police "attacked" the woman, "dragged" her from her vehicle, and "threw her onto the street, handcuffed her, tasered her, called her a 'dumb bitch,' and kept her restrained."

The suit says the officers arrested Mwamba and "threw her face-down on the street" to "prevent the disclosure of the video taken of them beating a handcuffed man."

That handcuffed man was 27-year-old Cordell Bruce, who faces assault charges on allegations of striking an officer outside a nightclub—charges Bruce denies. The video does not capture him being beaten by police.

In Brooklyn Gun Cases, Suspicion Turns to the Police

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

The tip comes from a confidential informer: Someone has a gun. Ten or more minutes later, police officers find a man matching the informer’s detailed description at the reported location. A gun is discovered; an arrest is made.

That narrative describes how Jeffrey Herring was arrested last year by police officers in the 67th Precinct in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. It also describes the arrests of at least two other men, Eugene Moore and John Hooper, by some of the same officers.

The suspects said the guns were planted by the police.

There were other similarities: Each gun was found in a plastic bag or a handkerchief, with no traces of the suspect’s fingerprints. Prosecutors and the police did not mention a confidential informer until months after the arrests. None of the informers have come forward, even when defense lawyers and judges have requested they appear in court.

Taken individually, the cases seem to be routine examples of differences between the police account of an arrest and that of the person arrested. But taken together, the cases — along with other gun arrests made in the precinct by these officers — suggest a pattern of questionable police conduct and tactics.

Mr. Moore’s case has already been dismissed; a judge questioned the credibility of one of the officers, Detective Gregory Jean-Baptiste, saying he was “extremely evasive” on the witness stand.

Mr. Hooper spent a year in jail awaiting trial, eventually pleading guilty and agreeing to a sentence of time served after the judge in his case called the police version of events “incredible.”

In another example, Lt. Edward Babington, one of the four officers in Mr. Herring’s case, was involved in a federal gun case that was later dismissed and led to a $115,000 settlement. In that case, a federal judge said she believed that the “officers perjured themselves.”

Debora Silberman, a public defender at Brooklyn Defender Services, has been fighting Mr. Herring’s arrest, filing a two-inch-thick motion detailing the problems with his case and the similarities to others.

On Thursday, after inquiries from The New York Times, prosecutors said that they were re-evaluating the case.

Ms. Silberman said she had always believed Mr. Herring. “Nothing in his story has ever changed,” she said.

Claims of Fabrication

She and another defense lawyer, Scott Hechinger, have suggested in court papers that a group of officers invents criminal informers, and may be motivated to make false arrests to help satisfy department goals or quotas. They also question whether the police are collecting the $1,000 rewards offered to informers from Operation Gun Stop, especially in cases where the informers never materialize.

Deputy Chief Kim Y. Royster, a spokeswoman for the Police Department, said investigators from the Internal Affairs Bureau were looking at the officers’ conduct in these cases. “Any allegations that are made in regards to the credibility” of the officers “are taken very seriously,” she said, adding that programs like Gun Stop protected the anonymity of informers, and that there were layers of oversight “to ensure that the integrity of the program is solid.”

While the individual officers declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment, spokesmen for their unions noted that this group had removed more than 300 guns from the streets and the cases were solid.

Mr. Herring was standing outside his apartment on the afternoon of June 4, 2013, next to his bike, when, the police said, he reached into a white plastic bag and removed a gun, putting it in a black plastic bag. He tossed that bag in the bushes — the entire sequence witnessed by a plainclothes officer, the police said.

Mr. Herring said he had been running errands, making stops at C-Town, Bargain Land and a dollar store. When the police told him he was being arrested for gun possession, he said, he was shocked.

Mr. Herring, 52, had been arrested three other times, twice for drugs and once for burglary; he had not been arrested again until this gun case, records show. He said that he had not used drugs since 1997, and that he most certainly did not have a gun when he was arrested in 2013.

“I’m in front of the building,” he said, questioning the police’s account, “waving a gun like some maniac?”

Ms. Silberman first learned of potential problems with the officers’ credibility when prosecutors in Mr. Herring’s case disclosed that testimony by Detective Jean-Baptiste had been challenged by a judge in an evidence-suppression hearing on a gun case in 2013.

Ms. Silberman called the defense lawyer in that case, Jeffrey Chabrowe, and was surprised to hear how similar the cases were.

Mr. Chabrowe’s client, Eugene Moore, had been arrested on a gun possession charge by Detective Jean-Baptiste, who is now retired, and Sgt. Vassilios Aidiniou. Those officers, along with Lieutenant Babington and Officer Jean Gaillard, participated in Mr. Herring’s arrest.

Like Mr. Herring, Mr. Moore had been standing next to a bike in the afternoon, the police said, and had stored a gun in a white plastic bag underneath containers of takeout food. There was also a criminal informer involved, the police said.

Mr. Moore, who could not afford bail, spent a year in jail before an October 2013 hearing on the case. At that hearing, Detective Jean-Baptiste said the informer had told the police that “they were with someone” with a gun in a white plastic bag, on bikes, heading toward Rutland Road and Rockaway Parkway.

Police officers arrived about 20 minutes later, and — even though the suspected gunman was supposed to be bicycling — they found Mr. Moore standing at the same intersection, next to a bicycle with a white bag on the handlebars.

Detective Jean-Baptiste went on to give conflicting testimony about the informer and the circumstances of the arrest. Justice William Harrington of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn called the detective “extremely evasive” and said he did not find him “to be credible.” The judge suppressed the gun evidence, and Mr. Moore’s case was dismissed and sealed.

The Same Officers

Ms. Silberman then found another case involving Lieutenant Babington, Detective Jean-Baptiste and Sergeant Aidiniou, handled by a colleague at Brooklyn Defender Services, Renee Seman.

In that case, Mr. Hooper was standing on the street when Detective Jean-Baptiste, in plainclothes, approached from behind, tipped off, the police said, by an informer. At that very moment, the police said, Mr. Hooper reached into his pocket, took out a gun wrapped in a red bandanna and threw it in the trash.

Prosecutors declined to bring the confidential informer in that case to court, so a hearing was held to determine if the officer’s observations sufficed as probable cause for the arrest. In that hearing, in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, Detective Jean-Baptiste described how he had first seen a bulge in the shape of a gun in the defendant’s pocket, even as he acknowledged that he was a car-length away and that the defendant was wearing a long shirt and baggy pants.

“Supposedly this defendant doesn’t see the police coming, but elects out of nowhere to take the object out of his pants pocket and dump it in a garbage can?” Justice Guy J. Mangano said. “I find it incredible that they thought it was a gun.”

Before Justice Mangano made a decision in the case, the district attorney offered Mr. Hooper a plea deal for time served — he had spent almost a year in jail — and Mr. Hooper agreed.

Other questionable cases arose.

In 2007, federal prosecutors brought a case against Terry Cross, who was arrested after the police saw him in the backyard of a house where drug dealing was suspected. Officers found a gun in a gray plastic bag near where Mr. Cross was standing, as well as marijuana, the police said. Gun and drug charges were filed.

In that case, too, there was a confidential informer, the police said, and the defendant asked prosecutors to bring that person to court. Prosecutors opposed the motion, and later said the informer had died

Watch this kid

New York Attorney General Seeks Powers to Investigate Killings by the Police

By JESSE McKINLEY and J. DAVID GOODMAN

ALBANY — Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York asked Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday to immediately grant his office the power to investigate and prosecute killings of unarmed civilians by law enforcement officials.

Mr. Schneiderman also challenged state legislators to pass new laws to repair public confidence in the criminal justice system, which he said was badly damaged after grand juries in Missouri and on Staten Island declined to bring criminal charges against officers in fatal encounters with unarmed black men.

But he seemed unwilling to wait for new powers to investigate the police in the event that another killing occurred before new laws were passed. “When the trust between the police and the communities they serve and protect breaks down, everyone is at risk,” he said.

The grand jury’s decision not to indict in the case of Eric Garner, who died after a police chokehold during an arrest on Staten Island in July, has renewed and strengthened calls for special prosecutors to handle such cases.

While Mr. Schneiderman was joined by local and state political leaders during his announcement in Manhattan, the prospects for quick legislative or executive action seem murky at best.

While the Assembly, dominated by Democrats, has passed bills in the past allowing the attorney general to investigate and prosecute alleged police misconduct, similar measures have failed to advance in the Senate, where Republicans were recently elected to a clear majority. On Monday, Scott Reif, a spokesman for the Senate Republican leader, Dean G. Sklelos of Long Island, had no immediate comment on the attorney general’s proposal.

The governor’s office also had a measured response to the attorney general, who has had an often chilly relationship with Mr. Cuomo. In a statement, Melissa DeRosa, Mr. Cuomo’s communications director, said the attorney general’s proposal was being reviewed, even as the governor pursued a “broader approach that seeks to ensure equality and fairness in our justice system.”

The proposal received immediate pushback from police unions and several district attorneys in New York City, particularly in Brooklyn, where a grand jury will soon be impaneled to hear evidence in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by an officer patrolling with his gun drawn.

Describing himself as “adamantly opposed,” the Brooklyn district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson, said in a statement that the voters elected him “to keep them safe from all crimes, including those of police brutality.”

District attorneys in the Bronx and Queens also defended their ability to prosecute cases involving police officers, while the Manhattan district attorney has said, in general, he would remain open to discussing the idea but has expressed reservations about special prosecutors’ lack of accountability.

A spokesman for the Staten Island district attorney, whose office presented Mr. Garner’s death to a grand jury but did not secure an indictment, declined to comment.

Michael J. Palladino, president of the detectives’ union, said the attorney general’s proposal “insulted the intelligence and the integrity of the grand jurors who examined the facts” on Staten Island.

Calls for special prosecutors have often followed fatal police encounters, particularly from relatives of the victims who believe that the close working relationship between local prosecutors and the police prevents them from robustly presenting cases against officers accused of wrongdoing on the job. The calls, however, are seldom answered.

The family of Sean Bell, killed in a volley of 50 police bullets in 2006, urged the state to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the officers. None was appointed. The Queens district attorney secured an indictment against three detectives involved in the shooting, but they were acquitted after a trial on charges of manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment.

The debate over the police and prosecutors seems more likely to percolate through the next legislative session and Mr. Cuomo’s second term, both of which begin in January. Senate Democrats planned to meet in Albany this week, and late Monday introduced legislation to create an Office of Special Investigation within the state attorney general’s office, which would “investigate any criminal offense or offenses committed by a police officer” that results in the death of an unarmed civilian.

Former Putnam County's Sheriff's Deputy Sentenced for Civil Rights Violations

Deputy Used Excessive Force on Two Occasions While on Duty

U.S. Attorney’s Office December 04, 2014  

Southern District of Indiana (317) 226-6333

 TERRE HAUTE—Acting United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced this afternoon the sentencing of Terry Joe Smith, a/k/a T.J., age 38, of Greencastle, Indiana. Smith who served as a deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department was sentenced to 14 months by U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence. Smith was found guilty after a jury trial in September of this year on two counts of deprivation of civil rights under color of law.

“The public has a right to expect better from their law enforcement officers,” said Minkler. “It is certainly a tragedy when a law enforcement officer with a family choses to violate the civil rights of our citizens, but it would be a far greater tragedy if T.J. Smith was not held fully accountable for his unlawful use of force in this case.”

Testimony at trial indicated that Smith used excessive force against citizens on two occasions in his capacity as a Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy. These incidents occurred on West Stardust Road and at the Lazy Acres trailer park in Greencastle.

On one occasion Smith punched a victim in the face after other officers had secured the victim resulting in serious bodily injury. The second offense occurred at the Lazy Acres Trailer Park in Greencastle when Smith threw a handcuffed person to the ground and drove his knee into that person’s back while lying on the ground.

Law enforcement officials are subject to criminal prosecution whenever evidence exists that they knowingly abuse their authority and deprive individuals of their constitutional rights. Such acts of misconduct, known as acts committed under “color of law,” include allegations of excessive force.

“The FBI will vigorously pursue law enforcement officers who violate their sacred duty to protect and serve,” said Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott. “The vast majority of law enforcement officers serve bravely and with great integrity in the performance of their duties.”

Minkler praised the outstanding law enforcement work by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI is a leading partner in the U.S. Attorney’s Public Integrity Working Group, which was launched in April 2012 with the stated purpose of aggressively investigating allegations of public fraud, waste and abuse by public officials in Indiana.

According to Assistant United States Attorneys Bradley A. Blackington and MaryAnn T. Mindrum, who prosecuted the case for the government, Smith will serve two years of supervised release after his sentence.

The John Geer killing

Grassley seeks answers in police shooting

Kathie Obradovich, kobradov@dmreg.com 11:11 p.m. CST December 6, 2014

The family of an unarmed man who was shot in his home and killed by police in Fairfax County, Va., has been trying for 15 months to get local officials to answer basic questions: Who was the police officer, and why did he shoot?

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants to know, too. He wrote letters last month to the Fairfax County police chief and the U.S. attorney’s office seeking answers not only about the facts of the shooting of John Geer but also about the startling lack of transparency.

Geer, 46, was killed by a single shot fired by a police officer on Aug. 29, 2013, at his home in Springfield, Va. A press release from Fairfax County police said officers responded at 2:40 p.m. to a domestic dispute at Geer’s residence.

Geer was upset that his girlfriend of many years was moving out and taking the couple’s two daughters, according to Geer’s father, Don Geer.

Police later seized guns from the house, but Geer was reportedly unarmed during the encounter. Don Geer said when he arrived at his son’s home during the standoff, John Geer had his hands on top of his head or on the door frame while three police officers pointed guns at him from the yard.

While officers were attempting to persuade John Geer to come out of the house, a police officer fired a shot.

“I heard the shot, and John grabbed his side,” Don Geer said. The injured man went back inside the house and shut the door. By the time police entered the house, which witnesses reported was at least an hour later, John Geer was dead.

Since then, Geer’s family, friends, the media and now Grassley have been unable to find out the identity of the police officer, who remains on administrative leave. They don’t know why the officer fired or why the other police did not. In January, Fairfax County chief prosecutor turned the case over to federal prosecutors, citing a conflict of interests. Nine months later, John Geer’s girlfriend filed a wrongful-death suit.

Grassley got involved after reading an editorial about the case in the Washington Post.

The police chief and an assistant U.S. attorney responded to Grassley’s letters last week — but still have not answered those questions. The federal prosecutor, Peter Kadzik, indicated in his letter dated Nov. 21 that the Department of Justice had to go to court to get information from the county and that information remains under seal.

“Incredibly, it looks like the Fairfax County Police Department resisted the U.S. attorney’s investigation and lost in court, though the details are unclear,” Grassley said in a statement Thursday. “While that explains some of the delay in the case, it doesn’t explain everything.”

Grassley noted the U.S. attorney’s office said it is not preventing the police department from releasing information about the shooting. It has only advised the police department to refrain from disclosing information about the federal investigation.

“So, there is no reason to keep the family and the public in the dark,” Grassley said.

A Grassley spokeswoman said the senator’s staff will meet with a member of the Geer family this week.

Don Geer said in a phone interview that he was appreciative of Grassley’s efforts, but he remains frustrated by the lack of answers.

“He didn’t get many answers, did he? I think he’s doing the best he can. He did a really good job in sending the initial letter to the Fairfax County police and the Justice Department, but he got stonewalled just like I’ve been and our attorneys and everyone else have been for the last 15 months,” Geer said.

Geer noted that in Ferguson, Mo., the police shooter’s name was released just seven days after Michael Brown’s death, and the grand jury decision was handed down in less than four months.

There was a grand jury decision in New York City six months after Eric Garner died after being restrained in a choke hold by a police officer.

“The whole situation is troubling,” Geer said. “You think justice will prevail and our judicial system will do the right things and be good about the whole thing.” But at times, he says, he wonders whether his son’s case will ever be resolved.

Grassley is still working on a separate case involving the May 31 death of a 20-year-old Iowa man, Brandon Ellingson, who drowned in Lake of the Ozarks while in the custody of a Missouri state trooper. In that case as well, the family has raised concerns about lack of transparency from authorities.

A Grassley spokeswoman said the senator is waiting for some information from the Ellingson family’s attorney before asking the attorney general for an investigation.

Grassley is doing a real service in investigating these cases, but this is too important to address on a piecemeal basis. Beyond the issues of racial politics, there needs to be a serious discussion about how public disclosure is handled in these cases around the country.

There’s a saying that justice delayed is justice denied. The Geer family has been denied justice for over 15 months. They deserve answers.

REGION BRIEFS:

FAIRFAX, Va.

—The Justice Department says Fairfax County withheld information sought by federal prosecutors in their criminal investigation of a fatal shooting by a county police officer.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R–Iowa, asked the Justice Department last month to explain why the investigation into the August 2013 shooting of 46-year-old John Geer of Springfield is taking so long.

Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik said part of the delay is that the Justice Department had to sue to obtain material for its investigation from Fairfax County.

County spokesman Tony Castrilli said that all information sought from the county Police Department has now been provided.

Witnesses say Geer was unarmed when shot by an officer responding to a call for a domestic dispute.

Rookie NYPD cop texted union before calling 911 after accidentally shooting innocent man

By RYAN GORMAN

A New York police officer who shot a man dead in a Brooklyn housing project texted his union before calling 911, a new report has revealed.

Akai Gurley, 28, was gunned down November 20 by rookie cop Peter Liang. The officer then texted his union representative before calling paramedics to tend to the dying Gurley, sources told the New York Daily News.

Liang fired one shot, then he and his partner went radio silent for more than six minutes, according to the paper. A 911 operator who knew the duo was in the building was even unable to reach them during their minutes off-the-grid.

"That's showing negligence," a law enforcement source told the Daily News. "The guy is dying and you still haven't called it in?"

Text messages received by the police union also showed both officers had no clue which building they were in, the source revealed. They were in the notorious Louis Pink Houses, in the East New York section of the borough, according to reports.

Liang and Shaun Landau, his partner, encountered Gurley while on an interior patrol referred to as "verticals" by police.

A superior officer, Deputy Inspector Miguel Iglesias, had previously barred them from such patrols, the source added. The preferred strategy was to remain outside unless summoned to an emergency.

"But Iglesias' philosophy was, 'I want a presence on the street, in the courtyards - and if they go into the buildings they were just supposed to check out the lobby," said the source.

Iglesias was reportedly furious the pair had gone against his wishes and entered the building, leading to the shooting incident.

The shooting was accidental. The officers Glock .9mm went off as he opened the door while holding a flashlight because the lights were out. The bullet actually ricocheted off the concrete wall and struck Gurley as he took the stairs with his girlfriend. She was reportedly not injured.

An attorney for Gurley's family has called the incident criminally negligent and told the Daily News he would be surprised if it does not reach a grand jury.

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson will present the case to a grand jury later this month. The city Medical Examiner's Office has already ruled the death a homicide.

The disturbing details surrounding Gurley's shooting death were made public as the city is in the midst of days of protests over a grand jury's decision to not indict the cop who many believe put Staten Island father Eric Garner in a chokehold that led to his death.

Gurley's funeral is scheduled for Sunday.

Community outraged over John Geer investigation

SPRINGFIELD, Va. (WUSA9) -- There is outrage in Fairfax County after news that the police department blocked a criminal investigation into a fatal police shooting.

John Geer was unarmed standing in his Springfield doorway with his hands in the air when he was shot 15 months ago.

"You're in your house, you think police will protect you, and you get killed. It's really sad," said Malika Derdr, who lived next door to John Geer and his family before he was shot and killed. Now the Geer's townhouse is for sale and his girlfriend and children have moved out.

"I never heard any screaming or saw any trouble for him," said Derdr. She was stunned when she learned police shot and killed him on August 29, 2013.

Neighbors' pictures show Geer with his hands up and at least one officer with his gun drawn and pointed.

"He had his hands up with no movements whatsoever and a shot was fired. I mean, no justification, whatsoever," said Don Geer, John's father who witnessed the shooting. Don Geer believes the county has failed him.

The Geer family has filed a $12 million dollar wrongful death civil suit against Fairfax Police Chief Edwin Roessler, the Police Department and three John Doe Police Officers who responded that day. On December 5th, Geer's attorney Michael Lieberman filed motions to try to force the police to hand over documents about the shooting, including the name of the officer who fired.

But Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Morrogh handed the criminal investigation over to the Justice Department which told Senator Charles Grassley that it had to sue the Fairfax Police Department over withheld materials. Sources say police withheld the same files from the Commonwealth's Attorney.

Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity says he remembers being told the officer's name, but he has since forgotten. He says he supports the police policy which allows for the age, years of service and duty station of the officer to be released, unless there's a good reason to withhold that information.

Herrity says he's outraged the county blocked a criminal investigation but does not blame the police chief.

"I don't think this is the police department covering this up I think it's the county attorney's office maybe being a little over protective," said Herrity.

The Board of Supervisors hired the county attorney. "And we have instructed him, perhaps too late, but we've instructed him fully comply and that's why I'm outraged to hear that we stood in the way of justice getting their documents." says Herrity.

Board Chairman Sharon Bulova issued a statement today saying:

"...My colleagues on the Board of Supervisors and I are frustrated and dissatisfied with the length of time this investigation has taken. The Geer family and the community deserve information and closure.

Federal investigators have been provided all information and materials from the County that they have requested. I urge the Department of Justice to bring this investigation to a timely resolution."

Feds say Fairfax County slowed federal investigation of John Geer police shooting

By Tom Jackman December 4

The Justice Department, attempting to explain why there has been no visible movement in the 15-month investigation into the Fairfax County police shooting death of John Geer, says in a newly released letter that Fairfax “withheld materials” from the probe and that there were “a number of challenges in investigating this case.” The letter also says that Justice has not given any instruction to Fairfax not to discuss the shooting, only the federal investigation itself.

The letter is below. It was the second response to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who last month asked five questions of both the Fairfax police and the Justice Department concerning the ongoing investigation. Geer was unarmed and was shot once in the chest as he stood in the doorway of his Springfield townhouse in August 2013 after standing and speaking with officers for 50 minutes. Fairfax police have refused to identify the officer or discuss why the shot was fired, and this week they declined even to reveal his age, length of service and assignment. The Fairfax police general order on release of information after a critical incident states that the department “shall release” such information “unless release may jeopardize the employee’s safety.” Capt. Dorian Portee declined to say why the information was being withheld.

“Incredibly,” Grassley said in a statement Thursday, “it looks like the Fairfax County Police Department resisted the U.S. Attorney’s investigation and lost in court, though the details are unclear.  While that explains some of the delay in the case, it doesn’t explain everything.  Fortunately, the U.S. Attorney’s letter removes the excuse for not answering questions, since it clearly states that the police department is free to disclose information about the shooting. So, there is no reason to keep the family and the public in the dark. ”

Grassley asked the Justice Department if the Fairfax police “refused to provide to your office any information or documents pertaining to this case — including the personnel file of the officer who allegedly shot Mr. Geer?” Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik responded, “There have been a number of challenges in investigating this case. Issues concerning withheld materials were favorably litigated by the Department in a court matter that is and remains filed under seal.”

Lawyers familiar with federal proceedings said that response is likely a reference to grand jury proceedings, which are under seal, and an attempt by prosecutors and the grand jury to obtain documents from Fairfax County. Lawyers for the county have advised the Fairfax police to resist prosecutors’ attempts to obtain personnel or internal affairs files on the officers involved, several officials familiar with the case said. Geer’s lawyers said when a federal grand jury sought to subpoena those records, Fairfax lawyers likely fought that in court, leading to the Justice Department’s reference to “litigated by the Department in a court matter” under seal, as nearly all grand jury proceedings are.

“I suspect, but I don’t know,” said lawyer Michael Lieberman, who has sued the Fairfax police on behalf of Geer’s family, “that Fairfax County thought it had some kind of privilege or other reasons to withhold information from the grand jury, they went to court and my read is they lost and had to provide the information. There are other possibilities but they are so remote that this is the most logical one.”

Fairfax Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) said of the Justice Department letter, “If the county attorney actually fought providing information and litigated it, I’m going to be very angry. The county shouldn’t be placing hurdles in front of the investigation, they need to be providing information so that the Justice Department can make the correct determination in a timely basis – we owe that to the officer and John Geer’s family.”

The letter also clarifies the timeline in the case: Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh referred the case to the U.S. attorney in Alexandria in January, not February, which was when he first disclosed the move. Morrogh reportedly also had been seeking personnel or internal affairs records in the case, had been rebuffed by the police, and shifted the case to federal authorities after four months. The Justice Department has now had the case for 11 months.

Fairfax County police did not respond to questions about the letter. Fairfax Board Chairman Sharon Bulova said a written response was forthcoming, which will be included here when it is received. [UPDATE, 4:20 p.m., Dec. 4: Fairfax spokesman Tony Castrilli wrote that, "As the DOJ letter states, certain information was the subject of court proceedings which are sealed by law, but all information sought from our Police Department has been provided...We also are awaiting a conclusion of the investigation and remain committed to our policy not to interfere with or jeopardize that process. " The county declined to answer specific questions about the case.]

Tom Jackman is a native of Northern Virginia and has been covering the region for The Post since 1998.

Geer Lawyer Expects Hearing Before New Year On Springfield Shooting

By Tim Peterson

#Out of 128 requests for the production of documents made by the Geer family lawyer Michael Lieberman, all but two have been denied by Fairfax County.

#In September, Lieberman filed a $12 million lawsuit against the county for the wrongful death of Springfield resident John Geer. Geer died in August 2013 after being shot by Fairfax County Police.

#The names of the officers involved in the shooting have yet to be released, as well as any explanation of why Geer was shot, or why he didn’t receive first aid immediately.

#“Their intentions are very clear,” Lieberman said of the County, “to not give any information until the court orders them to do so, do nothing voluntarily. This is their policy, to stonewall.”

#A spokesman from Fairfax County declined to comment.

#Lieberman said the explanation he’s received for the continued blockade is that a criminal investigation is currently underway.

#Fairfax County Chief of Police Edwin Roessler said in a September interview that the case was being handled by the Department of Justice. However, U.S. Attorney Dana Boente’s office has continued to decline to comment.

#“We have eyewitnesses to the incident who’ve never been called in front of a grand jury,” said Lieberman. “How do we know they’re not even done? After 15 months, I think you give up your right to withhold this type of information. We have a right to know, just like in Ferguson, just like everywhere else.”

#Lieberman is expecting to have a court hearing before a judge in the next two to three weeks.

#“Hopefully we’ll get some answer sometimes soon,” he said. “We pay for this, these folks are responsible to us. Where is the Board of Supervisors on all this? Is this the way they want their county run? They won’t adopt a citizen review board, that’s clear, so how are you doing to be answerable?”