What these clowns want

 The Fairfax County Police want the authority of a king and the accountability of a toddler. They twist everything in order to make themselves either the hero or the victim. For these government workers, there is nothing in between.

Big brother is watching you

  

The Fairfax County Police Department owns a number of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), devices which are mounted on police vehicles or stationary objects and read every license plate that comes into its field of vision – potentially thousands of records per minute. The Department stores the records for up to a year, allowing it to determine particular vehicle locations and specific dates and times. We filed suit on behalf of Harrison Neal, a Fairfax County resident whose license plate information has been recorded by the Department at least twice, arguing that the Department’s use of ALPRs violates Virginia’s Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act.

FCPD filed a Memorandum in Support of Demurrer on July 31, 2015 asking the judge to dismiss the case, arguing that license plate records are not “personal data” under the statute.  On August 28, 2015, the judge denied the Demurrer, allowing the lawsuit to move forward. FCPD filed their Answer to the Complaint on September 18, 2015.

FCPD filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on August 4, 2016 on the basis that the Complaint failed to establish a violation of the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act. Neal filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on August 4, 2016 on the basis that the collection, storage and use of automated license plate reader information failed to meet the requirement of the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act. Both parties subsequently filed Oppositions to the other party's Motion for Summary Judgment on August 25, 2016. On Sept. 8, 2016, Judge Smith heard arguments on summary judgment motions filed by Neal and FCPD. The case is scheduled for trial on Nov. 28-30, 2016. in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

On Nov. 18, 2016, the Fairfax County Circuit Court ruled in favor of the defendant. We filed the Notice of Appeal on behalf of Harrison Neal with the Fairfax County Circuit Court on Dec. 20, 2016.  Our Petition for Appeal was filed with the Virginia Supreme Court on Feb. 22, 2017. The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed an Amicus brief in Support of the Petitioner's Brief on Feb. 22, 2017. FCPD filed their Brief in Opposition of Neal's Petition for Appeal on March 17, 2017. On June 22, 2017, the Supreme Court of Virginia granted our Petition for Appeal. The ACLU of Virginia filed the Opening Brief on behalf of Harrison Neal on August 1, 2017.

On April 1, 2019, a Fairfax County judge granted the ACLU of Virginia’s petition for an injunction prohibiting the FCPD from collecting and storing ALPR data outside of an investigation or intelligence gathering related to a criminal investigation.

 

 

 

How difficult can this possibly be to create?

 FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — It’s been more than two years since independent researchers from the University of Texas at San Antonio suggested to Fairfax County’s Police Department (FCPD) that it consider adding a foot pursuit policy to the lengthy list of rules and guidelines that govern its officers.

While it has yet to be added, a recent police shooting is fueling a push to implement the change.

Back in February, two FCPD officers chased 37-year-old Timothy Johnson out of Tysons Corner Center and into a wooded area beyond the parking lot. They then shot and killed him.

 

Fairfax County NAACP condemns police chief, claims department is ignoring community concerns

The Fairfax County NAACP is condemning the Fairfax County police chief, saying has refused to meet with them on specifics concerning a reported dramatic increase in shooting incidents and apparent ongoing disparities in policing Black and Latino people.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - The Fairfax County NAACP is condemning the Fairfax County police chief, saying has refused to meet with them on specifics concerning a reported dramatic increase in shooting incidents and apparent ongoing disparities in policing Black and Latino people.

The accusations come as Police Chief Kevin Davis is outlining his vision for the department at a county Board of Supervisors presentation.

Man killed outside of Hyattsville nightclub, police say

The Fairfax County NAACP says Davis is ignoring law enforcement experts and the community working group appointed by the Board of Supervisors to study what they describe as a crisis.

If your black, you should probably protect yourself and stay out of Fairfax County and here's why...

  

 

A special grand jury has indicted former Fairfax County Police officer Wesley Shifflett for fatally shooting 37-year-old Timothy McCree Johnson outside the Tysons Corner Center mall. The charge against him is involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a weapon,.

On Feb. 22, 2023 Shifflett and another cop, James Sadler, chased Johnson into a wooded area outside the mall after receiving a call that Johnson had allegedly stolen a pair of sunglasses. Johnson was unarmed

Police in March released Shifflett’s body-worn camera footage showing Shifflett running through a retail store inside the mall and eventually following Johnson outside through a parking garage and onto a dark street.

Johnson, who is Black, was struck once in the chest and later died.

Shifflett was fired in March as the department’s Major Crimes Bureau investigated the killing and presented evidence to Descano. Sadler, the other officer in the chase, was placed on “modified restricted duty assignment,” meaning he was not permitted to interact with the public.

Of course this isn't another politically correct promotion to a position we don't need but have to pay for anyway

 Fairfax police appoint new director of crime control strategies: Using data analytics as a superpower in fighting crime

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) announced the promotion of Elizabeth Quintana to Director of Crime Control Strategies & Data Analytics.

FCPD said it is expected to improve safety around the county through data and research in the continued effort to fight crime and tackle repeat offenders.

Quintana said her team doesn’t necessarily patrol the streets but they are a key part of crime control in Fairfax County through data analytics.

“They may not carry a badge but they are heroes in the crime fight and their superpower is using information to help solve crime and reduce it as well,” said Quintana.

Director Quintana joined FCPD eight years ago as a Crime Analyst for the Mason District, supporting numerous criminal investigations and providing analysis on crime patterns and repeat offenders for commanders and patrol officers, according to FCPD.

“They are out there reading the police reports and bulletins and informing police commanders where crime is occurring, when crime is occurring and what is motivating those instances of crime,” said Quintana.

Part of her job is to reduce repeat offenders. FCPD said she played a major role in a training program for new crime analysts and served on the Crisis Negotiations Team for four years.

“We have dashboards that are available to the commanders and they can look at certain patrol areas or specific crime types," Quintana added.

The goal is to reduce and prevent crime –-- by looking at data and information, then deciding where to use resources, and where to deploy officers, especially in problem spots or where repeat crimes happen.

This is why these mouth breathers think theyre better than the citizen who pay them. If they arrested YOU your name would be all over the news

 SEVEN CORNERS, VA — An off-duty Fairfax County officer was charged in a DUI crash in Seven Corners Saturday, according to police.

The two-vehicle crash happened on Arlington Boulevard near South Manchester Street in the Seven Corners area on the border with Arlington County. Police say seven people in the other vehicle went to the hospital with minor injuries.

The officer was off duty and using a personal vehicle during the crash.

 

A holistic approach: Fairfax County police turn to wellness to recruit and retain staff

  

The Fairfax County Police Department decided to offer a "WellFit" program as a way to retain the mouth breather who work for them.

The FCPD can do silly things like this because their flush with cash, your cash. They hired athletic trainers, a dietician, a physical trainer, and strength and conditioning coaches, and pays for access to mental health professionals, like licensed psychologists.

Here's a thought, fire the police chief and bring in someone from the outside to clean house.

Explain to the new hires (it's too late for the cops who hang out in FCPD now) that they work for the people, the people don’t work for them.

Stop hiring from the bottom of the barrel.

Stop killing innocent people.

 

safety initiatives with Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis

 Avoid the Fairfax County Police, that's a safe move.

Virginia county expands successful co-responders program to address rising mental health crises?

 But you just had a cop zap a mentally disturbed man. Expand what? Zap more mentally disturbed people? 

Judge denies former police officer's petition to get his job back after killing unarmed shoplifting suspect

 

Prosecutors sought charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm after police say a Fairfax County officer shot and killed a shoplifting suspect near the Tysons Corner Center mall. A grand jury decided not to indict him. News4’s Julie Carey reports.

A judge denied a petition by a former Fairfax County police officer to get his job back after he shot and killed a suspect earlier this year.

In February, Wesley Shifflett killed 37-year-old Timothy Johnson, who was accused of shoplifting from Tysons Corner Center. Johnson was unarmed.

Approximately a month later, Shifflett was dismissed from his job as a police officer.

Police Chief Kevin Davis said Shifflett did not meet the expectations of the department and did not follow use-of-force protocols.

We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.

Last month, Shifflett petitioned the court to return to his position, arguing that the county did not follow a legal grievance process when he was fired.

Earlier this month, a Fairfax County judge ruled in favor of the county and denied Shifflett's petition.

In April, a county grand jury declined to indict Shifflett on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm in Johnson's death.

The Fairfax County prosecutor has requested a second grand jury to review the case and consider possible charges.

Fairfax County: These clowns have WAY TO MUCH time on their hands and their overstaffed

 

"Nearly 15k drivers warned, ticketed in Fairfax during 'Road Shark' campaign this year"

The latest con job by the FCPunk department

 

This is a PR move in their pee brains. This is old style back road southern country sheriff shakedown. This is how it works, of the 5800 citations issued, if all were paid, the county could raise about $150,000, ensuring the police don't get their budget cut, protecting dozens of redundant jobs. But of the 5,800 the cops won't show up in court for half of them and a large percentage will get tossed out of court, but the two or three dozen assistant police chiefs you pay for, will tell the county that they raised $150,000  

Police issue over 5,800 citations, warnings in Fairfax County in just six days

Congratulation Fairfax County, you offically live in a police state

 Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis wants resident committees at all district stations to stop meeting virtually and recording meetings.

RESTON, VA — Bob Sledzaus resigned as the chairman of the Reston Community Advisory Committee on May 23, citing Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis' decision to prohibit the recording and livestreaming of committee meetings.

Bottom of Form

In his letter, Davis explained that both councils operate under the authority of the Fairfax County Police Department.

"I have the authority to structure meetings and associated rules," 

new way to spend your money

   

The Fairfax County Police Department announced a new method to waste public money beyond random roadblocks and paying for a navy to patrol a river under the authority of the Coast Guard. They’ve come up with a cash sucking device called Zencity some stupid bullshit, a public survey tool used to understand local concerns, attitudes, and trust in police officers.

Here's the answer to the survey in advance, stop killing people, hire an outside police chief and stop promoting yourself to better paying jobs inside the department.

The questionnaire uses the word "holistically”….so now holistically is part of government speak, it’s a shame, it was a good word.

As an added piss away the publics money feature, the  survey will gather responses from residents in a English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese Urdu, Telugu, and Amharic.

Which means the English speaking only white boys at FCPD will have to spend your cash to have the survey printed up in those languages and then use more of your money to have them translated.

We need to outlaw cops having pursuits that are not matters of life and death

  

Wild Police Pursuit Leaves Driver Dead In Fairfax County

A 39-year-old man was ejected from his car and killed after leading cross-county police pursuit in northern Virginia over the weekend.

Ashton Robinson, of Culpeper, fled the scene of a DWI checkpoint in New Baltimore, in a 2011 Dodge Journey around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, April 22, the Fairfax County Police Department said.

Robinson was pursued by deputies from the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office. As he entered Fairfax County heading east on Lee Highway and Bull Post Office Road in Chantilly when he tried to pass a 2020 Toyota Camry, officials said.

Robinson struck the Camry, left the roadway, then struck a guardrail. Robinson was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver and passenger of the Camry were not injured. Preliminarily, speed and alcohol appear to be a factor. No Fairfax County officers were involved in the pursuit.

We need a national tracking system of bad cops

  

MPD hired officer accused of striking, using stun gun on unarmed Black man

Minneapolis police chief orders ‘full investigation’ into hiring of former Virginia officer Tyler Timberlake

 Fairfax County police officer Tyler Timberlake was arrested after using a stun gun on an unarmed, disoriented Black man multiple times, hitting him in the head with the Taser and kneeling on his back and neck. Screen shot from Fairfax County Police Department video

The Minneapolis Police Department hired a Virginia police officer who was charged with — but acquitted of — assaulting an unarmed Black man in distress just days after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd on a south Minneapolis street.

Body camera footage showed that within seconds of arriving on the scene, Officer Tyler Timberlake repeatedly used his Taser on the man and hit him in the head with the stun gun, then kneeled on his neck and back after the man fell to the ground.

A Minneapolis spokesman confirmed that Timberlake began working for the MPD on Jan. 9.

After the Reformer inquired about Timberlake’s hiring, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara released a statement Tuesday saying he was “extremely concerned” to learn about the hiring and directed staff to complete a thorough investigation. He said Timberlake is still in training and hasn’t yet been deployed into service at MPD.

“The individual in question will not be deployed or serve in a law enforcement capacity in any way until we conclude a full investigation into this matter,” he continued. “We will get to the bottom of this and take whatever measures are necessary to ensure we are always hiring officers who meet our standards and that we are ultimately placing only the most qualified and competent police into the service and protection in the city of Minneapolis.”

Asked how Timberlake’s past was missed, when a Google search turns up dozens of stories about the case, an MPD spokesman said, “The chief has committed to take any and all appropriate action to correct the matter once all the facts are known and to institute any necessary changes to the backgrounds vetting process for the department.”

Timberlake was a Fairfax County police officer on June 5, 2020 when police were called about a man walking around in circles on a residential street and shouting that he needed oxygen, according to a Washington Post account of the incident.

The incident was captured by a body camera on the first officer who arrived on the scene. It shows a paramedic and officer approach a man named La Monta Gladney, who is wearing a white tank top and blue jeans and rambling incoherently. Later, investigators found cocaine and PCP in his system.

The first officer on the scene and the paramedic try to coax Gladney into a waiting ambulance.

The video doesn’t indicate that Gladney, who was unarmed, was a threat to anyone, aside from walking aimlessly in the middle of a residential street. 

Less than three minutes into the video, Timberlake, then an eight-year veteran of the department, arrives, walks swiftly toward Gladney and says “Get on the ground, Anthony,” calling Gladney by the wrong name.

Timberlake would later testify that he thought Gladney was another man wanted for violent crimes.

Seconds after his approach, Timberlake uses a Taser on Gladney, causing Gladney to fall on his back. Then Timberlake tells him to roll over and jams his knees into Gladney’s neck and back; Gladney then shouts for help.

As Gladney repeatedly yells “DeeDee,” Timberlake holds the Taser on his back and hits him in the head with the stun gun before Tasering him again on the back of his neck.

Then, as several officers handcuff Gladney, the man repeatedly says, “I can’t breathe DeeDee!” The officers and paramedic roll him onto his side.

Gladney was taken to a hospital, treated and released. He was later charged with being drunk in public and resisting arrest, but the charges were dropped a week later, according to WHSV-TV.

A day after the incident, the county attorney and Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. held a press conference, where Roessler called Timberlake’s actions horrible, unacceptable, criminal and a violation of department policies, according to the Washington Post.

Timberlake was arrested and charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and battery and relieved of duty.

A prosecutor told a judge presiding over the case that when Timberlake was arrested, he “was already in the process of moving to Minneapolis,” according to WTOP News. The prosecutor said after the June 5 incident, Timberlake “didn’t turn in his body-worn camera at the end of his shift — he went home sick, and didn’t turn it in the next day,” WTOP reported.

Nearly two years later, in March 2022, Timberlake was acquitted of the assault charges by a Fairfax County jury.

Timberlake said during the trial that in addition to mistaking Gladney for someone else, he thought Gladney was a threat because he appeared to be on drugs. Timberlake testified that he wasn’t trying to hurt the man, but get him help, and that people on the drug PCP can be unusually strong and often don’t respond to pain the same way a sober person does.

The prosecutor said mistaking Gladney for someone else didn’t justify what Timberlake did, according to WHSV-TV. 

Gladney did not testify during the trial, but sued Timberlake and the county and later settled for $150,000, according to the Post. In the suit’s court filings, Gladney said he was in the street trying to get help for a friend who fell unconscious.

Lt. John Crone of the Fairfax Police Department told the Reformer that Timberlake returned to the Virginia department after being acquitted, but “left on his own accord,” although he didn’t know when.

 

Well here's a surprise, he wrote sarcastically.

  

Fairfax police officer accused of killing Timothy Johnson not indicted

 

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — A grand jury decided Monday not to indict a police officer whom investigators said killed a man in February after the man stole sunglasses from a store at Tysons Corner Center.

Sgt. Wesley Shifflett was accused of shooting Timothy Johnson on Feb. 22 shortly after the shoplifting was to have taken place. The Fairfax County Police Department later fired Shifflett.

Court documents filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court said the grand jury did not believe there was enough probable cause to indict Shifflett.

‘This was an execution’ | Family of police shooting victim, and its attorney see body-worn camera video

Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano released a statement:

Earlier this morning, I sat with Timothy Johnson’s family and told them I expected an indictment to come today in the killing of their son, so I can only imagine their pain and shock when they received the news that the officer who shot and killed their unarmed son was not indicted. Since, by law, no prosecutors were permitted to be present in the room when the investigating officers made their presentation to the grand jury, I can’t say for sure what information was conveyed to the grand jurors. In light of this outcome, I am evaluating all options on the path forward and continue to grieve Timothy’s loss.

Two cops, one bad guy, so they shot him? No stun guns, tasers, night sticks? These cops are gun happpy

 ‘Highly Unusual': Man Killed in Fairfax County Police Shooting Attacked Officer, Chief Says

A man died after he was shot by police in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County on Thursday afternoon, police say, shutting down a portion of Richmond Highway during rush hour.

Officers shot 38-year-old Brandon Lemagne of Newport News in a McDonald's parking lot in the 6300 block of Richmond Highway, just south of the Capital Beltway and the City of Alexandria, police said after 4 p.m.

An officer investigating a stolen U-Haul found at a gas station interacted with the driver of the U-Haul, who attacked the officer, pushing him into the driver’s seat of his cruiser and assaulting him from on top of him, police said.

The officer under attack radioed he was being attacked and his assailant had his gun, police said.

During the struggle, the cruiser went in reverse and spun out of control into the parking lot of the McDonald’s next door.

A 24-year veteran of the police force responded and pulled the suspect off the officer before shooting the suspect, police said.

“Officers discharged their firearms during the struggle. The suspect was declared deceased at the scene,” police said in a brief statement.

Young people ..if they can't get anyone to work for them or stay working for them...CONSIDER THATR

  

'We're hemorrhaging' Fairfax County police decry budget proposal as police shortage spikes

 

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — The police staffing crisis continues in Fairfax County where the police department is still short nearly 200 police officers. As other nearby counties and cities increase police officer pay to keep officers and attract new ones, Fairfax County is lagging. Last week, Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill proposed a new county budget that includes 2% pay raises for every county employee, including police officers.

Hill also proposed funding performance, merit and longevity increases.

“The executive’s budget that was proposed is extremely disappointing,” said Steve Monahan, the President of the Fairfax Chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association. “The budget just itself undervalues us entirely. Our officers are out here overworked, underpaid and now it’s very clear the County Executive undervalues to the work that they do.”

The Fairfax County police union is warning residents what could happen if the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors moves forward with the County Executive’s budget.

“This is going to impact Fairfax County citizens and community members in a negative way,” Monahan said. “I don’t know if the County Executive realizes that. And the impact that that’s going to do to this prestigious title that this county has which is the safest jurisdiction of its size.”

“I think this department [FCPD] is getting to the point of beyond return it’s going to force the department to cut services,” Monahan added. “The community members are not going to receive the services they expect.”

The 200-officer shortage comes at a time when several major crimes against people and property are rising in Fairfax County.

7News was the first report last summer that the staffing crisis at FCPD got so bad that the department declared a personnel emergency – forcing officers to work longer shifts.

“We are still hemorrhaging and what the county is doing instead of fixing it and giving us a tourniquet to fix this hemorrhaging they’ve given us a band-aid and said suck it up," Monahan said. "What we want to see and what we hope to see is the Board of Supervisors is going to change some things. We know they have the ability to do that.”

Nearby cities and counties have increased starting police officer pay while Fairfax County approved signing bonuses for new officers.

“Thankfully, Fairfax County has begun signing bonuses,” Monahan said. “But at the end of the day, what applicant is going to want to come here when the starting pay is at the bottom in the region? It’s sad to say that Fairfax County used to be the number one place for applicants to apply to. Now Fairfax County's starting pay is the lowest in the region. And that’s 18 different agencies. We are at the bottom for starting pay.”

7News asked supervisors if they think the proposed budget addresses the police staffing crisis in Fairfax County.

“It doesn’t really even start to address it,” Supervisor Pat Herrity told 7News. ard of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said he wants to find a balance between providing tax relief to homeowners and pay increases to county employees.

“I will be meeting with a number of community organizations as well as multiple Fairfax County employee groups during this year’s budget process as I do every year,” McKay told 7News in a statement. “I will work with my colleagues to strike the best balance possible between providing tax relief to County homeowners and providing well-earned pay increases for our County employees who provided critical services to our residents. This includes looking at options above what the County Executive has proposed.”

"This is a false narrative, it is not a question of pay increases or tax increases, it is a question of priorities and what is important to our residents,” said Herrity. “Public safety is clearly a priority of our residents. The Board needs to be doing the same thing our residents are doing and make the hard choices of what should be funded and what shouldn't. To date, they could not even second my motion to begin looking spending for efficiencies or spending reductions as prior Boards have done in challenging times (under both Democrat and Republican boards)."

But with crime on the rise, and officers continuing to leave, Monahan wants all county leaders to acknowledge there is a problem and to fix it.

“In the long run, I think the county needs to step up. The county needs to look at how other entities are prioritizing public safety compensation and do the same for us,” Monahan said. “Fairfax County has a special police department. Fairfax County offers services that no other jurisdictions offer. As more and more officers leave, those specialties that we are able to provide to the community – the ESRO detective, the crisis intervention team, the helicopter, search and rescue – entities like that, we are going to have to start having to pull bodies from.”

“You’ve seen other jurisdictions reduce calls for service say hey we can’t come to these calls anymore because we don’t have bodies,” Monahan added. “We’ve seen other jurisdictions prioritize mental health for officers by cutting back on the number of hours worked. Instead, we are still in a position where we are requiring mandatory overtime, we are having officers stay past the end of their shifts, we are seeing specialties not be fully staffed.”

Budget public hearings are scheduled for April 11 and April 13.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is expected to make changes to the County Executive’s budget on May 2 and is set to finalize the budget on May 9.

“Our officers can’t take it anymore because at the end of the day, they have to go home and put food on the table for themselves and their family,” Monahan added. “And when you see a jurisdiction next door paying more than $10,000 starting pay why would an applicant apply for Fairfax? He [Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill] chose to give us 2 [percent raises]. That’s not even keeping in mind what the national inflation numbers are at. That doesn’t take into account the health care premiums that could go up. There’s going to be less money going into our officers' pockets.”

“Based on the pay plan, general county employees will receive an average 4.06% increase and public safety employees will receive an average 4.39% increase,” a Fairfax County news release said.

Hill included $90 million to be allocated at the Board of Supervisors discretion.

 

They murdered somebody else...how in the hell does the Fairfax County Police get away with this?t

  

A Fairfax County officer who police say fatally shot a suspected shoplifter near Tysons Corner Center has been fired from the police department, and newly released body camera video shows he did not identify a threat or weapon on the suspect before firing his weapon.

Sgt. Wesley Shifflett's actions did not “meet the expectations” of the police department and Shifflett did not follow use-of-force protocols, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said in a news conference Thursday.

The department released surveillance and body camera footage of the incident, 29 days after Timothy Johnson was shot and killed.

Johnson, 37, was suspected of shoplifting a pair of sunglasses when police chased him to a wooded area by the Northern Virginia mall on Feb. 22. He died a short time later at a hospital.

We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.

Surveillance video shows Johnson going into the Nordstrom store at the mall that evening and looking at designer sunglasses.

An employee with Nordstrom Asset Protection saw Johnson act suspiciously and believed he was about to steal some sunglasses when they called the Tysons Urban Team, who responded to the store, police said.

An officer in plain clothes saw Johnson near the anti-theft alarm at one of the store's exits when the alarm went off, police said. Johnson then turned and walked toward the parking garage exit, according to police.

A few moments later, police say an officer in plain clothes saw Johnson set off a second alarm as he went through it and left the store near the parking garage, which can be seen on surveillance video.

 

Officers then followed Johnson into the parking garage and saw him go down a stairwell. Video from the parking garage shows an officer running to the stairwell to try to catch up to Johnson.

One uniformed and one officer in plain clothes chased Johnson as he exited the parking garage stairwell, ran through the parking garage and toward Route 7.

Body camera video from the uniformed officer, Sgt. Shifflett, shows the officer running through the parking lot At one point, the Shifflett can be heard saying "He's crossing over! He's crossing over, guys."

Officers continued to pursue Johnson as he changed direction and ran across Fashion Boulevard toward a wooded area.

"Going into the woods, through the woods," Shifflett says. He then shouts to Johnson, "Get on the ground! Get on the ground!"

While following Johnson into the wood line, both officers fired their guns. Johnson was hit in the chest one time.

Three pops can be heard in the video, and the third apparent gunshot is heard as one of the officers yells, "Stop reaching! Stop reaching!"

Fairfax County Police, a bad life choice

Fairfax County SWAT teams kills a dog their two for two

Well, that got swept under the carpet awfully fast, didn't it?

 

Yet another drunk and driving FCPO

 Yet another Fairfax County cop was arrested for drunk driving….young people….pay attention to this, the department has more than its share of drunk cop incidents….ask yourself, “Why are they drunk? Do I want to work in place populated by drunk people carrying loaded weapons?”

In this case Prince William Police arrested FCPO Nathan Jones, for driving under the influence. 

Back in September they arrested a separate FCPO for drunk driving. 

No one wants to work for the Fairfax County Police...do you blame them?

  

 

Short nearly 200 officers, Fairfax PD staffing 'at a crisis level' ahead of holiday season

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — Thanksgiving tends to be one of the most dangerous and deadly times on U.S. roads due to increases in impaired drivers and reckless driving.

Going into the holiday season, the Fairfax County Police Department is facing a shortage of police officers – officers who are responsible for enforcing traffic laws and getting drunk drivers off the roads.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said recruiting classes have gotten larger. However, the Fairfax County Police Department is still facing a staffing crisis.

“When you’re down around 200 officers and you’ve disbanded your specialty units, of course, it’s at a crisis level,” Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity told 7News on Tuesday.

Herrity says The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors needs to focus on keeping current officers by paying them more.

“We’ve seen increases in crime, we’ve seen increased traffic accidents and pedestrians fatalities,” said Herrity. “Public safety isn’t something you can ignore. It will catch up to you and it is catching up with us.”

7News was the first to report the staffing emergency at FCPD over the summer.

At that time, FCPD was short 189 officers, Davis told 7News in August.

Vacancies later reached above 200, according to police sources. Now FCPD is short 192 officers, Davis told 7News on Tuesday.

“We’ve still seen a higher rate of resignations than retirements,” Davis told 7News. “We are doing all we can to keep people focused on the value of policing. It’s still the greatest job in the world. We just need to increase the volume of the right candidates who want to do this job for the right reasons.”

Davis hopes new recruitment efforts, including a $15,000 signing bonus for new officers, will help.

“This is a hot market and we are all in competition with each other. The application pool has dwindled over the past couple of years,” Davis said. “We have great support from the Board of Supervisors and the community at large. So we have to consider many things like compensation and financial incentives and other benefits to attract people to the job because a police applicant in 2022 has a varied menu of choices about where to go and young people are paying attention more now than they ever have.”

Fairfax Co. Police Chief Kevin Davis speaks to 7News on how the department is handling a staffing crisis (7News)

“In about a week and a half that 192 will go to 154 when we start our largest police academy class in several years,” added Davis.

“They're still in a crisis level,” said Herrity. “We're still around 200 short. Through September, we had 101 officers leave. We've had a couple of recruit classes, some transfers into a total of about 57. We got one more recruit class coming in. We're going to have some additional resignations. So we're still at a net loss on officers. We still got work to do.”

Herrity praised the $15,000 signing bonus for new officers, but he said it came too late. He blamed the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for failing to act quickly enough. The Board of Supervisors is led by Chairman Jeffrey McKay.

“I think it was late, but I'm happy it was there,” said Herrity. “I wish we had given them the salary increases. The best thing we can do is retain our current officers. That's going to help a lot with bringing new officers in, but we really need to focus on retaining current officers.”

“There were some ideas put on the table last budget,” Herrity added. “Salary increase that got cut in half and spread across all public safety agencies rather than given to the patrol staff where we really need them - Second Lieutenant below. We could extend Drop. That was also on the table. So there are some creative things that we should and can be doing. And I hope that the board will come around on it.”

Herrity predicts more officers will have to retire by the end of the year.

“Simply, [the ] Drop [program] is officers pick their retirement date three years out, and they can't work past that date,” he said. “So they’re not allowed to work past that three years. We can extend that by a year or two years with literally no cost to the government.”

“And the board said no?” 7News' Nick Minock asked.

“And the board said no,” Herrity replied.

One place some officers have gone to is Amazon.

“Amazon is certainly a challenge not just for Fairfax but for police departments around the country,” Davis said. "We have to be creative We have to be the employer of choice and there is a commitment to do so.”

But Supervisor Herrity expressed doubt that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has that commitment.

“We need to get back to public safety being a priority in Fairfax County," said Herrity.

Fairfax County is beginning its budget process soon. 7News will let you know if the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approves pay raises for current officers - or not - to address the staffing crisis.

“We hope we are turning the corner a little bit on recruiting,” said Davis. “We had five Fairfax County police officers who resigned in the last year who came back, so they came back to the job. So that’s exciting. The grass isn’t always greener.”

Good work Farifax County PD.......

  

'Everything is not OK. It's not anywhere near OK' | Major crimes are up in Fairfax County

  

FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — With five weeks to go until the end of the year, crimes against people and crimes against property are up in Fairfax County, Va.

That’s according to the latest data from the Fairfax County Police Department.

These crimes include arson, burglary, vandalism, robbery, motor vehicle theft, assault, homicides, kidnapping, sex offenses and other major crimes.

“We have for the first time ever, have an Auto Crimes Enforcement squad. All they do is go after car thieves,” said Kevin Davis, the Police Chief of the Fairfax County Police Department.

Davis said this has helped reduce skyrocketing auto thefts --- although he said auto thefts are still up over last year.

“At the end of March, across the county, [auto thefts] were up about 45%,” said Davis. “And this Auto Crimes Enforcement squad has driven that down and we stand at about ten percent increase in auto theft.”

“We are challenged by auto theft,” added Davis. “We are challenged by the theft of catalytic converters. We are challenged by domestic violence, and we are challenged by simple assaults.”

All year, 7News has been tracking and reporting on crime trends in Fairfax County.

In August, when 7News told Board of Supervisor’s Chair Jeff McKay that several categories of crime are going up, McKay responded by saying Fairfax County is the safest jurisdiction of its size in the country.

It’s a message that’s been echoed by Fairfax County’s top prosecutor Steve Descano.

“At the end of the day, we are experiencing what most jurisdictions are experiencing except we are weathering it much better,” Descano told 7News. “That allows us to keep our communities safe and crime is down over the last few years in general.”

Descano is counting all crimes, including Group B offenses which include drunkenness. But the number of Group A crimes is increasing.

Supervisor Pat Herrity is calling out local leaders like Chairman McKay for painting a rosy picture of crime trends in Fairfax County while the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) is short around 200 officers.

“Everything is not OK. It’s not anywhere near OK,” said Herrity. “You can’t be down 200 officers, disbanding all your specialty units, units that took our department from a good department to a great department and be OK. The police shortage impacts everybody day to day. Whether that be increase crime, increase speeding, and people ignoring traffic laws. It puts us at risk. We’ve seen that in everything from our mall managers not reporting crime, now to the increased traffic fatalities that we’ve had. It’s something that when you lose control of, it’s hard to get back. We need to get back to public safety being a priority in Fairfax County.”

As of Nov. 22, Fairfax County saw 20 homicides in 2022 which is the same number of homicides in 2021. In 2020, there were 15 homicides and in 2019 there were 14 homicides, according to FCPD data.

“Murders 2022 vs. 2021, we are at 20. You might recall we finished 2021 with 20 murders,” said Davis. “A third of those murders were committed by adult children killing their parents inside their homes. This year is a little bit different. But, domestic violence in terms of homicides is still the theme. Nine of our 20 murders are domestic-related murders. So, we are still seeing domestic violence stress and anxiety, isolation all those things play a role in the family dynamic and violence that has erupted because of that.”

 

Young people, stop and think about it after you read this....do you really wan to spend 20 years with idiots like this?

 8 sex assault cases unable to be investigated due to destroyed evidence: Fairfax County Police

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Eight sex assault cases where evidence was marked as having been destroyed can no longer be investigated, Fairfax County Police say.

The department says they have reviewed 93 cases assigned to Detective Cynthia Lundberg from 1994 to 1997 that were identified following a Freedom of Information Act request filed by a victim of 1995 sexual assault.

The Washington Post was the first to reveal the destruction of evidence in Gretchen Van Winkle’s case.

Two separate investigators looked at the FOIA request with particular emphasis on the 46 sex assault cases where evidence was labeled as having been destroyed.

Detectives had no concerns with the destruction of evidence in 38 of these cases, as evidence was destroyed in accordance with FCPD policy. Examples of evidence destroyed per department protocol include cases closed by arrest and fully adjudicated, cases where the victim did not want to further the investigation and cases closed as a police service.

Detectives found eight sex assault cases listed within the FOIA where evidence was marked as having been destroyed and questions remain. Additional investigation into these cases would be warranted but is now impossible without the necessary evidence.

The victims in these cases are all living survivors of sexual assault, and FCPD says they deeply regret that they will not likely be able to obtain the justice they deserve due to the destruction of evidence.

FCPD says victims with questions about an existing case are encouraged to call. They will be provided with a case update and supportive services.

"The improper destruction of evidence makes it extremely difficult to hold offenders of crimes accountable," said Major Ed O’Carroll, Bureau Chief, Major Crimes Bureau, Cyber and Forensics. "The victims in these cases deserved better, and the Fairfax County Police Department deeply regrets the actions of the past. Steps are now in place to prevent such errors from ever repeating."

The department says its policies and practices are now explicit in the way evidence is preserved in all sexual assault investigations. These policies include:

- All physical evidence recovery kits (PERKs), regardless of whether they are submitted for testing or excluded from testing because of a legislatively mandated exception, are required to be stored for a minimum of 10 years, or 10 years past the victim’s 18th birthday, whichever is longer. 

- If at any time, the victim objects to the destruction of a PERK, or rape kit, the kit shall be kept for a minimum of 10 years from the date of the request.

- Officers/Detectives shall notify survivors of their PERK ID number and PIN for access to the PERK Tracking System, unless there is sufficient and articulable reason to believe that doing so would unnecessarily interfere with the investigation. 

- All officers/detectives shall provide victims with a PERK ID number and PIN, and are required to notify a victim at least 60 days prior to the destruction of a PERK of their intent to destroy the kit.

- Regardless of the results of any forensic testing, no FCPD employee may unilaterally request the destruction of any PERK kit or other crime scene evidence relating to a sexual assault that has been identified by MCB Command, in conjunction with the Director of Victim Services, to be deemed relevant to prosecution. 

- FCPD employees who seek the destruction of these items shall request a meeting with both the Commander of the Violent Crimes Division as well as the Director of the Victim Services Division for final review and joint concurrence.

- The status of property or evidence shall not be changed without the written consent of the officer/detective responsible for the item(s) along with secondary approval of their first-line supervisor. 

In July 2016, Virginia law was put into effect stating that a law enforcement agency that receives a PERK collected from a victim who has reported the offense shall submit the PERK to DFS for analysis within 60 days of receipt, except in certain circumstances.

In June 2019, Virginia also launched a website to track the location of PERKs to ensure survivors of sexual assault know what’s happening to their cases. Survivors of sexual assault are given an ID number to see where their kit is. No personal information that could identify the survivor is logged in the website.