Does this actually surprise anyone? Fairfax attorney who faced firing over Geer case will stay employed after all

I was wrong. This isn't about the arrogance and brutality of the Fairfax County Police, this is about the COMPLETE inability of   Sharon Bulova and her mob on the Board of Supervisors to their jobs.

You get the government you deserve.  

Documents show that Tianti counseled the Fairfax police to withhold internal affairs files from the county prosecutor investigating the August 2013 shooting of John Geer. Geer was killed, according to four cops on the scene, while his hands were in the air.

Fairfax attorney who faced firing over Geer case will stay employed after all

By Antonio Olivo June 1   

The Fairfax County deputy county attorney who faced being fired over how she handled a case involving the police shooting of an unarmed man will keep her job after all, officials said Monday.

Cynthia L. Tianti had been placed on administrative leave in March in the wake of a public outcry over several aspects of the investigation into the 2013 shooting of John Geer.

On Monday, a lawyer representing County Attorney David P. Bobzien in the termination proceedings said Tianti will keep her job, but will focus only on matters related to the county Community Services Board, which provides services for people with mental illnesses and substance abuse problems.

“She is assigned to handle Community Service Board matters exclusively,” Sharon Pandak said.

Bobzien declined to comment. Tianti did not respond to an interview request.

Sharon Bulova (D), chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, said the county decided not to fire Tianti to “avoid litigation and a challenge to termination . . . She will not be working in the area that involves police issues.”

E-mails obtained by The Washington Post show that Tianti counseled Fairfax police to withhold internal affairs files from the county prosecutor investigating the shooting, which occurred during a response to a domestic dispute at Geer’s Springfield townhouse.

The county attorney’s office also did not tell supervisors that prosecutor Raymond F. Morrogh had requested a meeting with Bulova and the rest of the board to discuss the case. Several board members pushed for Bobzien and Tianti to be fired after learning they had been kept out of the loop.

Bobzien agreed to retire in June 2016 — nine months earlier than he had planned — and initiated a reorganization of his staff that included eliminating Tianti’s position. On Monday, Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) expressed frustration that Tianti would remain on the county payroll — and said supervisors had not been informed about the decision.

“This is probably another case where I question the judgment of the county attorney,” Herrity said.

Bulova, who created an ad-hoc police commission to deal with some of the questions raised by the Geer investigation, said she hopes to move past the controversy sparked by the case.

“While this situation has been disappointing and frustrating, I think we’re going to see some positive changes result from it,” she said.

Antonio covers government, politics and other regional issues in Fairfax County. He worked in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago before joining the Post in September of 2013.

Staff writer Tom Jackman contributed to this report.

Implications of Rodriguez v. U.S. on traffic stops, Virginia law

Implications of Rodriguez v. U.S. on traffic stops, Virginia law

(as originally published on Virginia Lawyers Weekly on May 27, 2015)

By Rob Poggenklass, Tony Dunn Legal Fellow

Generic traffic stopA new Fourth Amendment decision by the United States Supreme Court may significantly alter traffic stop interactions with state and local law enforcement in Virginia.  The case has also abrogated two decisions by the Virginia Court of Appeals, paving the way for new suppression arguments by criminal defense attorneys.

In Rodriguez v. United States,1 the court considered whether an officer, having completed a valid traffic stop, could extend the encounter for a few more minutes to pursue a criminal investigation. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had held that the officer’s seven- or eight-minute delay – which allowed him to employ his canine – constituted a permissible, “de minimis intrusion on Rodriguez’s personal liberty.”2

In a 6-3 decision written by Justice Ginsburg, the Supreme Court reversed. The Court had held a decade earlier (over Justice Ginsburg’s dissent) that a dog sniff did not constitute a Fourth Amendment search.3 But while the facts of Rodriguez include a canine, the decision hinges on two other points: (1) the initial stop for a traffic infraction and (2) the officer’s extension of that stop to pursue a criminal investigation.

Some traffic stops are better characterized as Terry stops4 because they are based on reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.5 But many stops, including the one in Rodriguez, are made ostensibly because a civil traffic infraction has occurred. The 8th Circuit and the Virginia Court of Appeals have allowed officers to pursue criminal investigations during stops for traffic infractions. In Rodriguez, the Courtputs the focus back on traffic safety by explaining, “On-scene investigation into other crimes, however, detours from that mission.”6

Recent Virginia Court of Appeals case law demonstrates how that court has strayed from Fourth Amendment principles in the traffic stop context. In Coleman v. Commonwealth,7 a Chesterfield County officer stopped a car for an inoperative license plate light, a civil traffic infraction. After running a warrant check, the officer noticed that a passenger in the car had a recent felony drug arrest. This prompted the officer to pursue a drug investigation that took between 10 and 12 minutes and led to Coleman’s arrest for possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Citing its own precedent and a case from the 8th Circuit, the Virginia Court of Appeals found that “an officer does not violate the Fourth Amendment by asking a few questions about matters unrelated to the traffic violation, even if this conversation briefly extends the length of the detention.”8 The officer’s 10- to 12-minute detour into a drug investigation cannot survive the U.S. Supreme Court’s principal holding in Rodriguez: “Authority for the seizure thus ends when tasks tied to the traffic infraction are—or reasonably should have been—completed.” Coleman has been abrogated.

The rationale for Coleman came from a case decided a year earlier and on much closer facts. A Virginia Beach officer stopped Gloria Ellis for an inoperative brake light.9 Intending to give her a summons, the officer requested her license and registration and ran a warrant check. While waiting for the record check, the officer recalled that Ellis had a narcotics history. The officer walked to Ellis’ vehicle and asked if she would consent to a search of the vehicle. Ellis said no. He asked if he needed to get a drug dog and Ellis said go ahead and get the dog. This interaction, which occurred solely because the officer chose to pursue a criminal investigation during a civil traffic stop, took approximately one minute.10 On the walk back to his car, the officer called for a canine unit, which arrived before he could complete the traffic summons. Following a canine alert, Ellis consented to a search of her person, where drugs were found.

Though Ellis is a closer case factually than Coleman, its holding11 cannot survive Rodriguez. Brief extensions of stops for civil traffic infractions are not de minimis intrusions on a person’s liberty. They are Fourth Amendment seizures, not based on reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

The Rodriguez case should also empower drivers and passengers to assert their rights during traffic stops. Officer Struble pulled over Dennys Rodriguez because he saw Rodriguez’s car “briefly veer” onto the shoulder before returning to the road.12 When Officer Struble asked Rodriguez if he would mind if Struble’s canine performed a walk-around of Rodriguez’s vehicle, Rodriguez said no. This prompted the officer to call for backup, further delaying a stop based on a traffic infraction. From the time Struble stopped Rodriguez until a warning was issued, 19 minutes had elapsed. Rodriguez’s assertion – saying “no” to Officer Struble’s drug investigation – forced the Fourth Amendment issue and increased his chances for victory on appeal.

After Rodriguez,the battle lines for argument at suppression hearings have shifted.13 In cases that involve stops for civil traffic infractions, defendants can argue that questioning unrelated to the initial reason for the stop unnecessarily prolonged the interaction. A record check is OK.14 But every minute spent by law enforcement pursuing a criminal investigation during one of these traffic stops is a detour that implicates the Fourth Amendment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ENDNOTES

1 Rodriguez v. United States, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 2807 (Apr. 21, 2015).

 2 United States v. Rodriguez, 741 F.3d 905, 908 (8th Cir. 2014).

 3 Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (2005).

 4 See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).

 5 See, e.g., Folly v. Commonwealth, 2014 Va. App. LEXIS 273 (Va. Ct. App. Aug. 5, 2014) (upholding an investigatory traffic stop based on an officer’s reasonable suspicion that a driver was in possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute).

 6 Rodriguez at *14.

 7 2009 Va. App. LEXIS 431 (Va. Ct. App. Sept. 29, 2009).

 8 Id. at *7 (quoting Ellis v. Commonwealth, 52 Va. App. 220, 227 (Va. Ct. App. 2008)).

 9 Ellis v. Commonwealth, 52 Va. App. 220, 223 (Va. Ct. App. 2008).

 10 Id.

 11 See supra note 8 and accompanying text.

 12 United States v. Rodriguez, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123426, *2 (D. Neb. Aug. 30, 2012).

 13 Before Rodriguez, the Virginia Court of Appeals drew its own line at the moment when an officer produces a ticket or a warning. See Commonwealth v. Crooks, 2012 Va. App. LEXIS 364 (Va. Ct. App. Nov. 15, 2012).

 14 Rodriguez v. United States, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 2807, *12 (Apr. 21, 2015).

How much you want to bet the cop gets away with it?

This is not an actual bet, if were the Fairfax County Police would laid down odds and when they lost.....they would shoot me and....THEY WOULD BLAME A CAR DOOR FOR THE SHOOTING

AND

THEY WOULD GET AWAY WITH IT

So once again, you wanna bet this cop gets away with threatening these kids?

Anyway, on to the story.....................................  

Cop Caught on Video Telling Teen ‘If You Fuck With Me, I’m Going To Break Your Legs’

“Can you tell me why I’m being arrested?” Hamza Jeylani asks an officer in a video captured on his cell phone.

“Because I feel like arresting you,” the officer, who the American Civil Liberties Union identifies as Officer Rod Webber, replies in the short video.

This exchange happens after Webber calmly threatens Jeylani, who does not appear to be offering any resistance whatsoever. “Plain and simple,” Webber tells Jeylani, “if you fuck with me I’m going to break your legs before you even get a chance to run.”

According to the ACLU, Jeylani and four of his friends — all of whom are black teenagers — were pulled over after making a U-turn in a parking lot in South Minneapolis. 

The four young men had been playing basketball at a YMCA. Despite Officer Webber’s statement that Jeylani was arrested because the cop felt like arresting him, the police claim that they suspected the four youth of stealing the car they were driving.

Jeylani, however, says that the driver of the car had documents showing that he owned the car. And the ACLU adds that “police said the stolen car they were after was a blue Honda Civic. The teenagers, however, were driving a blue Toyota Camry.”

Not all cops are humorless

Ever get the feeling your not part of the group?

Surprise!

OUCH!

The greatest dangers to liberty

“The greatest dangers to liberty 

  lurk in the insidious encroachment 

  by men of zeal, well meaning 

  but without understanding.”—  Louis D. Brandeis

Power

“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”

                                                                                                             John Steinbeck

Well let' see, we have weasel and a thief on the Board of Supervisors so I suppose this guy will fit right in

Fairfax County School Board Member, County Board 

Candidate Co-Founder of Quack, Anti-Vaxxer Group

by: lowkell

Fri Apr 10, 2015 at 17:30:00 PM EDT

WHY HASN'T THE LOCAL MEDIA REPORTED ANY OF THIS?

The race to succeed Gerry Hyland (D) as Fairfax County Supervisor from the Mt. Vernon magisterial district is off and running, and there are four Democrats in the field. I don't support anyone in this race as of yet (and may never), but I've started looking into the candidates, one of whom is Fairfax County School Board member Dan Storck. According to Storck's website, he is "Co-Founder and Managing Member, National Integrated Health Associates." What is National Integrated Health Associates, you ask? I had never heard of it before (and barely knew a thing about its "co-founder and managing member," Dan Storck), so I checked its website. Here's what I found.

*The company claims to be "leaders in holistic integrative medicine and biological dentistry." Sounds innocuous enough, but start poking around the website, and you quickly get a different impression.

*In fact, these folks are vociferous "anti-vaxxers," who among other things tie vaccination to autism. See their page on vaccinations for more on this dangerous pseudo-science. Note that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, "There is no link between vaccines and autism." Period. Also, just for emphasis, "Vaccine ingredients do not cause autism."

*Despite the overwhelming benefit to humanity of vaccines, and the pandemics that would occur (which would kill untold numbers of people) if we stopped vaccinating people, the National Integrated Health Associates website states, "We support the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) effort and their accumulated expertise and information about vaccinations - the risks and benefits of vaccinations."

*The "National Vaccine Information Center," as this article in Slate explains:

...is a group that has an official-sounding name, one that might make you think their message is trustworthy.

Except, not so much. Or at all. Or really just the opposite.

NVIC is an antivax group, plain and simple. Despite hugely overwhelming tsunami-level amounts of evidence showing no link between vaccines and autism, they still think there is one. They go on and on about "vaccine injuries", yet actual severe side effects from vaccines are very rare, especially when you realize that many millions of vaccines are given every year. The NVIC relies on anecdotes of injuries as evidence, but that's very dangerous thinking. Stories and personal observations are a good place to start-it's how you might notice a connection between two things-but it's not where you end. You must apply rigorous testing to your ideas, so that you can make sure you're not seeing a connection where none exists.

Not good.

*Even worse: on the National Integrated Health Associates website, there's a page of links to all kinds of dangerous, pseudo-scientific nonsense. For instance, a document entitled "Seeking to understand: ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder)" argues absurdly that "only you can be your child's best doctor." No, sorry, that's what all those years of Medical School are for, and why we go to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment, not to Dr. Mom or Dr. Dad.

*The National Integrated Health Associates website further claims, outrageously: "welfare moms and school systems get extra money for medicating their kids - what a system!" Whoa -- "welfare moms?" The whole vaccination thing is a way for school systems and "welfare moms" to get money? Is this a bad joke?

*The website also asserts, completely falsely, that "Autism, ADHD, allergies and asthma (4 A's) and all the other brain disorders are due to neuro-immune dys-function due to too much neurotoxins and the inability of the child to adequately detox or remove these harmful toxins." It explicitly blames, again completely falsely, the "rapid rise in the vaccination schedules for infants in the last 30 years" for everything from autism to allergies to "leaky gut" to "Lyme, Candida, Herpes virus, Strep, staph, tetanus botulinum, mycotoxins from mold and others." Alrighty then...

*One of the National Integrated Health Associates' doctors was disciplined by the Maryland State Board of Physicians for having "incompetently managed 12 significantly ill patients." This same doctor previously had been "convicted and sentenced to two years' probation for marketing an unapproved medical device in interstate commerce." In addition, he "signed a consent agreement with the Maryland board under which he admitted to practicing medicine without a license and would pay a $15,000 fine." Oh, and New York State suspended this guy's license for basically being a total quack, practicing something called "orthomolecular medicine," which his website claimed (falsely) were "effective against ADD & ADHD; aging and longevity; alcohol and drug problems; allergies; Alzheimer's; arthritis; asthma; immune and autoimmune disorders; cancer; chronic cardiovascular problems and risk factor screening; chronic fatigue; chronic illness; chronic pain; depression; detoxification; diabetes; fibromyalgia; heart and vascular disease; heavy metal toxicity; hormonal problems; intestinal problems; lifestyle health issues; men's health problems; mental health problems; migraine; neurological disorders; osteoporosis; Parkinson's disease; sinusitis; smoking; sports nutritional medicine; and women's health problem." Craaaazy stuff.

We could go on all day here, but the bottom line is clear: the National Integrated Health Associates, co-founded and managed by Fairfax County School Board member (and current County Board candidate) Dan Storck, is a quack organization which strongly promotes dangerous "anti-vaxxer" pseudoscience. Why "dangerous?"  Because, obviously, failure to vaccinate children makes not just the unvaccinated children more vulnerable to potentially life-threatening diseases, but also other people (e.g., older people whose immunity might be compromised for whatever reason) as well. As this article puts it: "An epidemic of vaccination skepticism - largely based on unfounded and discredited anti-vaccine beliefs - has contributed to the growing public health crisis."

So here's the thing: Dan Storck is entitled to whatever beliefs he wants to hold, but for a member of the school board in Virginia's largest county to be peddling this dangerous, anti-vaccination pseudoscience seems to be relevant information that parents and voters might want to be aware of. In talking to people yesterday and today, what I'm hearing is that the public has NOT been aware of Dan Storck's anti-vaccination views. Perhaps if they had known, they might have reelected him anyway, but the issue apparently never came up, so we'll never know.

Anyway, now Storck's seeking a promotion to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and it seems like voters should have this information before they go to the polls this June to select their Democratic nominee (Storck or one of the other Democratic candidates - Tim Sargeant, Jack Dobbyn and Candice Bennett) for this position. At that time, voters can make an informed decision as to who they want representing them on the Fairfax County Board, possibly for many years to come...

P.S. Also note that Storck's company believes herbs can cure Lyme Disease, that fluoridated water is heinous, that mandatory vaccines may violate your civil liberties, that wearing a bra or putting on deoderant can cause breast cancer, that kids with cancer shouldn't get chemotherapy, that women shouldn't get mammograms because they are worthless (they link to this article), that measles is "transmitted by the vaccinated," and...ok, I think you get the idea.

In Fairfax County, the cops are above the law and I can prove it. Can you prove they aren't?

and now a word from this guy............

Some of yous are ingrates and by that I do not mean to imply that you are that metal thing that you use to shred chicken parmesan on your spaghetti with, not that thing. Ingrate is a different thing from that thing. But we’re since you brought it up, you gotta be careful when you use that metal shredder thing because sometimes when the cheese thing is reel low like, you can scrap your knuckles with it like when you walk and it like hurts after a while, you know?

Cops will know what I mean.

That’s why sometimes I buy the cheese in the jar but they say that has sawdust in it. And you’re a cop I should explain….you should not eat sawdust.

Anyway, that whole chicken parmesan- spaghetti thing is a convalescent subject….I don’t either, the broad we hired to rewrite everything said I should use that word  convalescent, it means like when your old and become a vegetable and they put you in home.

Even though I was told not to say this, I say just eat food for white people and avoid that whole eye-talian thing and there you go.

Back to you ingrates who go like this all the time;

“Why has the cop who killed John Geer been arrested for murder?”

“Why hasn’t the cop who killed Sal Culosi been arrested for murder?”

“Why hasn’t the cop who killed David McMasters been arrested for murder?”

“Do you guys think you can get away with murder?”

Yeah, as a matter of fact we not only think we can get away with murder, we do get away with murder. I mean Whatta you blind? 

HOLD THE ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE

The Mount Vernon neighborhood delivered Gerry Hyland to the Board of Supervisors and if the ills of the police department can be placed at the feet of one person, it’s Jerry Hyland, a man with a cop fetish who bullied other members of the Board of Supervisors into giving the cops everything and anything they needed.

Hyland won’t be back, thank God, and now the people of Mt. Vernon have a chance to redeem themselves by electing an intelligent representative to the Board.

On the Democratic side there are four candidates

Candice Bennett (electcandicebennett.com)

Jack Dobbyn (www.jackdobbyn.com)

Tim Sargeant (www.timsargeant.com)

Dan Storck 

At a recent debate the candidates were asked if they supported the creation of an independent citizen police oversight board.

Wrong question.

Like the media, the person asking the questions is under assumption that the citizens should do the work that we pay our elected officials to do……keep the cops in line….by having us run an independent citizen police oversight board.

The question to the candidates should have been;

“What actions will you take to bring the Fairfax County Police into line?”

“Where do you stand on the use of body cameras for the Fairfax County Police?”

“How about the use of drones by the cops?”

“What will you do to address the cop’s epic budget in light of education and road funding in county?”

“Will you demand manslaughter charges against cops who willfully kill unarmed and otherwise innocent citizens?”

“What steps will you take to demilitarize the cops?”

“Where do you stand on bringing in a reform chief from outside the Fairfax County Democratic machine?”

“What is you stance on residency requirements for the cops?”

“Where do you stand on minimum education and IQ standards for cops?”

Three of the candidates in Mt Vernon….Candice Bennett (electcandicebennett.com)

Jack Dobbyn (www.jackdobbyn.com) and Tim Sargeant (www.timsargeant.com)

support creating an oversight board. It’s the right answer to the wrong question but at least it’s a start.

The fourth candidate Dan Storck, said he would await the recommendations of the current ad hoc police practices commission before deciding.  In other words, he is willing to be part of the fraud being carried off by Sharon “Show me money” Bulova.

Blaming the cops for idiot behavior is like shaming your dog for urinating in public. The cops and the dog are just doing what comes naturally.

We don’t need this problem handled and managed police commission, created by cops and their dummies on the board of supervisors in the spirit of damage control and not police reform. We don’t need it because we shouldn’t even have to deal with the cops….it’s not our job. What we do need is a panel to question the elected officials who are supposed to be watching over the cop’s behavior but haven’t done that, ever.

They…the elected officials… pull this crap…and get away with it, well, until recently anyway….because they know that at election time the machine will get the Post’s endorsements and not one arm of the press will ask them an embarrassing question. And they will get the Post’s endorsements, a big boast for their reelection, because they are democrats and self-professed liberals. But because their democrats it doesn’t mean they are able administrators and because they say their liberals doesn’t make them liberal.

On our end, we’ll do what we can to make sure Storck loses the primary because he’s too stupid to serve in public office.

In the column, writer John Lovaas is right on target. It’s encouraging to see some parts of the media understanding that problem isn’t within the ranks of the police department but rather with our elected leadership.

Column: Looking Ahead to the 2015 Elections in Fairfax County

By John Lovaas/Reston Impact Producer/Host

When we go to the polls in November, the ballot will include not only our state legislators, but also the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (Chairman and 9 district supervisors) and School Board (12 reps-9 district members and 3 at-large).

I’ve been thinking. What if we rated, or graded, incumbents based on their actual performance? In the case of the Board of Supervisors (BOS), what if we rated them on how well they handled their most important functions. In the case of the BOS, that would be leadership in public education and public safety. Not only do those two functions impact us all, but they are also the two biggest chunks of the Fairfax County budget—an estimated 65 percent of the total.

It is still a little early. There are over five months until election day, Nov. 3. However, at this stage it does not look good for the incumbents. In public education, it is charitable to rank BOS collective performance any better than poor. Why? Because they are at loggerheads with the Superintendent and the School Board, and our schools are in decline. Fairfax teachers’ pay is no longer competitive in the region after several years of freezes. Morale is down and the best teachers are starting to leave. Class sizes are above optimal levels and growing. Summer school is zeroed out. Meanwhile, the Board voted themselves a fat $20,000 pay increase. If it weren’t for some blame for the School Board as well, it in fact would be fair to say the Supervisors are failing our kids. The BOS performance on the public safety side has been worse. The August 2013 police killing of unarmed John Geer was the latest example of the lack of police accountability and was briefly a national scandal. The Fairfax County Police kept the name of the killer and all facts of the case hidden from the public for 18 months until a court ordered the information released. The shooter is still on the job, has not even been charged. The Supervisors have averted their eyes and remained silent the whole time. The Geer killing was the most recent of several questionable killings by FCPD officers in recent years. Only a national epidemic of police violence with race overtones kept Fairfax County off the front pages.

In April, Chairman Bulova acted to create a Commission to review “Police Practices.” The Commission has broad representation and looks promising. But, it is oversized (36), with a large police contingent, and is due to complete its work just a month before the election. Thus, reforms, including independent investigation and oversight of police, are unlikely until after the elections--when the pressure is off. It may be that only change can bring reform.

The School Board might receive an interim grade of C-, only because they made good progress in setting later school start times for teens after a decade of foot dragging, and recently broadened anti-discrimination protections for students. These commendable actions only partially offset their dismal failure to recognize and support teachers, and their absolute chutzpa in granting themselves a 65 percent pay increase for next year shortly after stiffing teachers once again!

If the election were held today, this voter would have to pause before voting for incumbents on the Board of Supervisors. For the School Board, I might flip a coin or leave the block empty. If the incumbent is one of the five who voted for their pay raise, the challenger likely gets my vote. Incumbents still have five months to improve and maybe do some extra credit work before they can stand up to credible challengers.

This is what's wrong with your government...............

This is Dan Storck....yeah, he's a grown man who actually walks around like that...and he wants you to elect him to the board of supervisors......

When asked where he stood on bringing the Fairfax County Police under control, he said he would have to wait and see what the answer on that would be.... 

The cops have killed three unarmed citizens and gotten away with it. Their using drones on you and scanning MILLIONS of license plates and refuse to stop AND THIS GUY SAYS HE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT TO DO.....

 YOU GET THE GOVERNMENT YOU DESERVE.