I’m embarrassed for the Fairfax County Police Department
I know very little about the shooting of death of John Geer by a police officer on August 29, 2013 and either do any of my fellow citizens in Fairfax County, Virginia. But despite this complete lack of knowledge I’m outraged about the incident. In fact, all us who live in the county should be outraged and demanding answers at both the Fairfax County Police Department’s headquarters and the Fairfax County Government Center.
My outrage isn’t over the actions of the police officer who shot an unarmed man. That’s because I honestly haven’t a clue why Mr. Geer ended up with a bullet in his chest after talking with police for 50 minutes in the doorway of his home in Springfield. My outrage is over the horrendous leadership the Fairfax County government has provided in this case. Instead of doing the jobs we pay them to do, they’ve allowed this one incident to become an embarrassment for the police department and Fairfax County. The situation is so out of control that even a Republican senator from Iowa is demanding answers.
For 15 months the department has remained silent on this shooting. They’ve refused to tell the family of Mr. Geer or the public what happened that day. On top of that, there is news today (Thursday) that lawyers for the county advised the police department to fight the release of information from those legally trying to get it, including the United States Department of Justice. The Justice Department says its investigation into the Geer case has been slowed by the actions of the Fairfax County Police Department.
Not only have they slowed the case, while it drags on, the police department has used the Justice Department as cover for its silence. But that excuse fell apart today when Washington Post reporter Tom Jackman published a letter Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik sent to Senator Charles Grassley. It says in part:
The FCPD was not asked to refrain from disclosing information about the shooting. However, the FCPD was advised not to disclose information about the federal investigation.
Here’s some news for those in charge: It’s either a justified shooting or it isn’t. Either your officer did a good job protecting us, he made a tragic mistake or he did something malicious. I could live with any of those outcomes as long as I was being told the truth and, if there were issues with the shooting, they were properly addressed.
Besides being an embarrassment, this ridiculous effort to withhold basic information has only raised suspicions about what did happen to Mr. Geer. This complete lack of transparency is a disservice to every member of the department. At a time when police are under attack throughout the country this is the exact opposite of the way you build trust in the community.
Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr. is the chief of police. If Col. Roessler, at this point, can’t explain to us what happened that day in Springfield then maybe it’s time to find someone who can.
If it’s Fairfax County’s own attorneys who won’t let the police chief speak due to liability concerns, it’s time to fire those attorneys. The harm settling a wrongful death suit will do to the county’s finances is a lot less than this crap is doing to the county’s image.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors should hold hearings into this debacle and demand the police department finally institute public information polices that keep the citizens properly informed with timely information about important events, to include any time a police officer uses deadly force. If the police department can’t do that basic job, de-fund the police department’s public information office. I’m tired of my taxes being used to pay someone a good salary to say “no comment”.
Tom Jackman’s previous coverage of this case:
Five months after Fairfax police killed John Geer, more delays ahead in resolving case
The death of John Geer: Now seven months of silence on Fairfax police shooting
Ten months of silence in the Fairfax police shooting death of John Geer
After a year with no answers in Fairfax police slaying of John Geer, family sues
Fairfax County police respond to Grassley in John Geer shooting, reveal little
