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After a year with no answers in Fairfax police slaying of John Geer family sues - The Washington Post
Clipped from the article:
âWay too muchâ
Harrington is speaking publicly for the first time; the family had declined interview requests for months. âI just felt things were going to work out,â Don Geer said. âI donât think you should be out demonstrating. People have their job to do. But a year is enough. Definitely. Way too much.â
Don Geer and Jeff Stewart, John Geerâs best friend, were standing together, about 70 yards from John Geerâs front door, and watched in horror as he was shot. Harrington and her teenage daughters were in a nearby townhouse as police swarmed their Springfield neighborhood.
Geerâs family and friend said that as they pleaded with the Fairfax police for help, the officers took no action to assist the wounded man for an hour. When police broke down Geerâs front door about 4:30 p.m., officers had to step over the 46-year-old manâs body just behind the door. According to an autopsy, he bled to death.
That night, Harrington and her daughters wanted to retrieve belongings and their cat from their home. Police said no. Geerâs body was still on the floor at 9 p.m. âI was dealt another blow,â Harrington said. âI had no idea he was still in there.â
Fairfax police will not discuss their actions before or after the shooting, saying the case is under investigation.
SNIP
A call to police
Geer went back in the house. Harrington said she walked in, and Geer threw a suitcase down the stairs. âI screamed,â she said. âI decided to call the police, have somebody tell him he couldnât do this.â She dialed 911 from the kitchen phone. An operator asked her whether there were guns in the house, and she said that Geer had guns for hunting but that they were locked in a safe.
Harrington said she then went back outside, where Geer followed her. Two police officers arrived at 2:40 p.m. Geer spoke to them, then turned and went back inside even as the officers asked him to stay outside. âHe told them he didnât have to come out,â Harrington said. âHe has every right to stay in his own house, and theyâre not welcome to come in.â
He stood behind a storm door with a screen on the top half and glass on the bottom, his hands resting above his head on the top of the door. The officers aimed their weapons at him from a distance of about 20 feet, photos show. Harrington took the girls to a neighborâs house, and called Stewart and Don Geer. More officers arrived and took up positions around the neighborhood.
Morgan Geer, then 13, opened the neighborâs door and yelled at one officer, âDonât you hurt my daddy!â Harrington said the officer barked at her: âDonât come out. Keep the door closed.â
John Geer stood, in a white shirt and shorts, empty-handed, for almost 50 minutes. âHeâs talking to them very calmly,â Stewart said. âAll of a sudden,â at 3:30 p.m. âhe starts lowering his hands. His hands move down the door, level with his face, and the cop shot him once in the chest.â
Don Geer said he was âin a state of shock.â He said his sonâs hands âwere always above his shoulders. Almost simultaneous, you heard the shot, and he spun around and closed the door.â
Officers retrieved Harrington from a neighborâs home, but as she watched, no one went to help Geer, according to the family. âI was saying, âWhy isnât anyone going in there? Heâs just in there bleeding to death,â â she said.
At 4:30 p.m., an armored vehicle with a long battering ram blasted open Geerâs door. Geerâs body was just inside. A gun in a holster was on a stairway landing not far away, but photos of the blood stains show Geer did not move more than a step or two before collapsing.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by attorney Michael Lieberman alleges gross negligence and failure to supervise the patrol officer who fired.
If the officer felt Geer was reaching for a weapon, why did he fire only one time, and why did no other officer fire? Lieberman asked.
He also questioned policeâs failure to summon a trained negotiator to deal with Geer.
Clipped from the article:
âWay too muchâ
Harrington is speaking publicly for the first time; the family had declined interview requests for months. âI just felt things were going to work out,â Don Geer said. âI donât think you should be out demonstrating. People have their job to do. But a year is enough. Definitely. Way too much.â
Don Geer and Jeff Stewart, John Geerâs best friend, were standing together, about 70 yards from John Geerâs front door, and watched in horror as he was shot. Harrington and her teenage daughters were in a nearby townhouse as police swarmed their Springfield neighborhood.
Geerâs family and friend said that as they pleaded with the Fairfax police for help, the officers took no action to assist the wounded man for an hour. When police broke down Geerâs front door about 4:30 p.m., officers had to step over the 46-year-old manâs body just behind the door. According to an autopsy, he bled to death.
That night, Harrington and her daughters wanted to retrieve belongings and their cat from their home. Police said no. Geerâs body was still on the floor at 9 p.m. âI was dealt another blow,â Harrington said. âI had no idea he was still in there.â
Fairfax police will not discuss their actions before or after the shooting, saying the case is under investigation.
SNIP
A call to police
Geer went back in the house. Harrington said she walked in, and Geer threw a suitcase down the stairs. âI screamed,â she said. âI decided to call the police, have somebody tell him he couldnât do this.â She dialed 911 from the kitchen phone. An operator asked her whether there were guns in the house, and she said that Geer had guns for hunting but that they were locked in a safe.
Harrington said she then went back outside, where Geer followed her. Two police officers arrived at 2:40 p.m. Geer spoke to them, then turned and went back inside even as the officers asked him to stay outside. âHe told them he didnât have to come out,â Harrington said. âHe has every right to stay in his own house, and theyâre not welcome to come in.â
He stood behind a storm door with a screen on the top half and glass on the bottom, his hands resting above his head on the top of the door. The officers aimed their weapons at him from a distance of about 20 feet, photos show. Harrington took the girls to a neighborâs house, and called Stewart and Don Geer. More officers arrived and took up positions around the neighborhood.
Morgan Geer, then 13, opened the neighborâs door and yelled at one officer, âDonât you hurt my daddy!â Harrington said the officer barked at her: âDonât come out. Keep the door closed.â
John Geer stood, in a white shirt and shorts, empty-handed, for almost 50 minutes. âHeâs talking to them very calmly,â Stewart said. âAll of a sudden,â at 3:30 p.m. âhe starts lowering his hands. His hands move down the door, level with his face, and the cop shot him once in the chest.â
Don Geer said he was âin a state of shock.â He said his sonâs hands âwere always above his shoulders. Almost simultaneous, you heard the shot, and he spun around and closed the door.â
Officers retrieved Harrington from a neighborâs home, but as she watched, no one went to help Geer, according to the family. âI was saying, âWhy isnât anyone going in there? Heâs just in there bleeding to death,â â she said.
At 4:30 p.m., an armored vehicle with a long battering ram blasted open Geerâs door. Geerâs body was just inside. A gun in a holster was on a stairway landing not far away, but photos of the blood stains show Geer did not move more than a step or two before collapsing.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by attorney Michael Lieberman alleges gross negligence and failure to supervise the patrol officer who fired.
If the officer felt Geer was reaching for a weapon, why did he fire only one time, and why did no other officer fire? Lieberman asked.
He also questioned policeâs failure to summon a trained negotiator to deal with Geer.
