Tyreez
12-08-2014, 01:06 PM
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/kathie-obradovich/2014/12/07/grassley-seeks-answers-police-shooting/20013115/
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.
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.