This is NOT freedom ~ be a piece of peace
- WAR is NOT the right answer
- THIS is NOT the definition of serve & protect !!!
- Susan Lynne Schwenger
Police shot unarmed man,
drove an armored truck through his door
when he did not exit his property on command
http://www.policestateusa.com/2013/john-geer-shot-by-police/
http://www.policestateusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/JohnGeer11.jpg
An armored vehicle drives a battering ram through John Geer’s door. (Source: ABC7 WJLA)
Posted on October 30, 2013
A Virginia man loses his family and then his life
thanks to the swift justice of the local police department.
SPRINGFIELD, VA — A paramilitary force was dispatched to a townhouse after a woman reported a domestic dispute between her and her boyfriend. When her boyfriend stubbornly chose to stay inside his home, police shot him and drove an armored truck through his front door.
SWAT surrounding the victim's home. (Source: NBC4 Washington)
SWAT surrounding the victim’s home. (Source: NBC4 Washington)
The situation began on August 29th around 2:40 p.m. when John Geer — a 46-year-old kitchen designer and installer — was told by his girlfriend that she had decided to leave him. The couple had two daughters together, ages 13 and 17. Emotionally distraught over the breakup, Geer exacerbated the situation by throwing her belongings onto the lawn of their townhouse.
This led to her calling the police. She informed the dispatcher that he owned a firearm. A SWAT team was sent to the quiet cul-du-sac.
Geer’s home was surrounded by armored vehicles and uniformed personnel. A police sniper was photographed lying prone in a neighbor’s yard aiming toward Geer’s residence. Men in helmets and military fatigues cordoned off the neighborhood. Police began making their demands. An armored truck a topside gun turret parked in his yard and prepared for a strike command. As time went on, helicopters whirred overhead and K-9 units were seen by neighbors.
SWAT vehicle at home of John Geer (Source: wusa9.com)
SWAT vehicle at home of John Geer
(Source: wusa9.com)
“We’re just here to help you — come out with your hands up,”
recounted neighbor Edith Eshleman, of the police negotiations.
Fairfax County police officers spent approximately 40 to 50 minutes communicating with Geer, insisting that he either let them in his home or that he exit into their custody.
He did neither. Geer was “a very stubborn man,” according to one of his relatives.
Geer’s girlfriend and two teenage daughters had already left
when the negotiations came to an abrupt conclusion.
An officer shot Geer through a screen door as he stood facing outward at them.
Geer closed the door and retreated into his house.
http://www.policestateusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/JohnGeer3-300x168.png
SWAT vehicle at home of John Geer
(Source: wusa9.com)
An officer aims his pistol toward homeowner John Geer. (Source: NBC4 Washington)
Around 4:30 p.m., with Geer sill “barricaded” inside his home, police used their $250,000 armored Lenco Bearcat to drive a long battering ram through the front door. SWAT team members made entry and ultimately found Geer deceased in his home.
A sniper aims at John Geer's home (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
A sniper aims at John Geer’s home (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
Don Geer — the victim’s father — watched the scene unfold from the front lawn of the townhouse where officers positioned themselves with their guns trained on his son. He confirmed that his son’s hands remained empty and resting on top of a screen door throughout the confrontation with police. When John lowered his hands about six inches, according to Don Geer, one of the officers fired a shot and hit John, causing him to retreat.
Police did not immediately say whether John Geer was armed or why the officer decided to open fire, nor would they discuss the details of the conversation between the officers and Geer before the shooting. Geer’s father says that he was too far away to hear the conversation, but claims that a detective assigned to investigate the case told him that his son that his son was not holding a gun at the time of the shooting and that he did not have one on his person.
“It was very scary because I’ve never seen coming down the street a SWAT team — I mean, a SWAT team?!” exclaimed neighbor Valerie Findley.
The armored truck mounted with a long battering ram. (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
The armored truck mounted with a long battering ram. (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
Neither Geer’s father nor his good friend understand why the standoff ended in the death of a man with no prior convictions for violence. They do not believe that John was armed at the time, though both acknowledge that he owned a gun. Geer’s father said that the detective in charge of the investigation told him that a holstered handgun was found on the stairway landing a “couple of steps” from the front door where he was shot.
“If he doesn’t have a weapon in his immediate possession, the officer should not have fired,” Don Geer said. “He would have to have turned around, bent over and then picked up the gun to present a threat. It’s pretty hard to say the shooting was justifiable.”
The officer involved was placed on routine administrative leave while the investigation continues, and police are remaining tight-lipped about the details of the incident. Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler said that the shooting is still an active criminal investigation adding that he could not provide more information about what happened, or address neighborhood concerns just yet. They have not yet revealed what justification, if any, their officer had for shooting Geer. The police said in a written statement, “Precise movements, contents of the discussion between officer [and the] man, and all pertinent matters relating to the incident are under investigation.”
SWAT team enter through rammed entryway (Source: myfoxdc.com)
SWAT team enter through rammed entryway
(Source: myfoxdc.com)
“It’s my goal when I can legally share that information with the community,
I will,” Roessler told News4. In September,
investigators confirmed that Geer had been unarmed, according to WJLA.
The police response arguably escalated the situation instead of defusing it.
This is a recurring theme in a string of examples of how police suffer from a dearth
of training in how to deal with unarmed, uncooperative citizens
who had not been charged with committing any crime.
What police lack in empathetic response,
they more than compensate for with an excess of military toys and the use of force.
Their unsubstantiated concern for the safety of the public notwithstanding,
the police are required to seek a warrant from an impartial magistrate
before engaging in the search of private property and seizing of persons.
The allegation by an equally emotional girlfriend that John Geer
was an owner of firearms does not constitute probable cause to violate his rights
and ultimately end his life.
As John Geer had not yet committed any offense to warrant his arrest,
and with his family already off-site, police should have defused the situation
by themselves leaving the scene.
Refusing to be forced from your home or to allow agents of the state
to enter without a warrant is not an offense punishable by execution.
And though his mental state was, in the words of his friend Jeff Stewart,
“emotionally wrecked that day,” the antagonistic response
from the state cannot be touted as a positive outcome by any reasonable standard.
{ Support Police State USA }
WJLA Channel 7 and NBC 4 Washington interviewed witnesses and obtained video of the incident. View them below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gb1o9YO8uc
Unarmed man shot to death by police
Accountability
John Geer’s family and neighbors are demanding answers
for what they believe was an overreaction by police. Demand justice via the contacts below:
Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
Phone: (703) 246-2253
Email: FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
Facebook: Fairfax County PD
http://www.policestateusa.com/2013/john-geer-shot-by-police/
- WAR is NOT the right answer
- THIS is NOT the definition of serve & protect !!!
- Susan Lynne Schwenger
Police shot unarmed man,
drove an armored truck through his door
when he did not exit his property on command
http://www.policestateusa.com/2013/john-geer-shot-by-police/
http://www.policestateusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/JohnGeer11.jpg
An armored vehicle drives a battering ram through John Geer’s door. (Source: ABC7 WJLA)
Posted on October 30, 2013
A Virginia man loses his family and then his life
thanks to the swift justice of the local police department.
SPRINGFIELD, VA — A paramilitary force was dispatched to a townhouse after a woman reported a domestic dispute between her and her boyfriend. When her boyfriend stubbornly chose to stay inside his home, police shot him and drove an armored truck through his front door.
SWAT surrounding the victim's home. (Source: NBC4 Washington)
SWAT surrounding the victim’s home. (Source: NBC4 Washington)
The situation began on August 29th around 2:40 p.m. when John Geer — a 46-year-old kitchen designer and installer — was told by his girlfriend that she had decided to leave him. The couple had two daughters together, ages 13 and 17. Emotionally distraught over the breakup, Geer exacerbated the situation by throwing her belongings onto the lawn of their townhouse.
This led to her calling the police. She informed the dispatcher that he owned a firearm. A SWAT team was sent to the quiet cul-du-sac.
Geer’s home was surrounded by armored vehicles and uniformed personnel. A police sniper was photographed lying prone in a neighbor’s yard aiming toward Geer’s residence. Men in helmets and military fatigues cordoned off the neighborhood. Police began making their demands. An armored truck a topside gun turret parked in his yard and prepared for a strike command. As time went on, helicopters whirred overhead and K-9 units were seen by neighbors.
SWAT vehicle at home of John Geer (Source: wusa9.com)
SWAT vehicle at home of John Geer
(Source: wusa9.com)
“We’re just here to help you — come out with your hands up,”
recounted neighbor Edith Eshleman, of the police negotiations.
Fairfax County police officers spent approximately 40 to 50 minutes communicating with Geer, insisting that he either let them in his home or that he exit into their custody.
He did neither. Geer was “a very stubborn man,” according to one of his relatives.
Geer’s girlfriend and two teenage daughters had already left
when the negotiations came to an abrupt conclusion.
An officer shot Geer through a screen door as he stood facing outward at them.
Geer closed the door and retreated into his house.
http://www.policestateusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/JohnGeer3-300x168.png
SWAT vehicle at home of John Geer
(Source: wusa9.com)
An officer aims his pistol toward homeowner John Geer. (Source: NBC4 Washington)
Around 4:30 p.m., with Geer sill “barricaded” inside his home, police used their $250,000 armored Lenco Bearcat to drive a long battering ram through the front door. SWAT team members made entry and ultimately found Geer deceased in his home.
A sniper aims at John Geer's home (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
A sniper aims at John Geer’s home (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
Don Geer — the victim’s father — watched the scene unfold from the front lawn of the townhouse where officers positioned themselves with their guns trained on his son. He confirmed that his son’s hands remained empty and resting on top of a screen door throughout the confrontation with police. When John lowered his hands about six inches, according to Don Geer, one of the officers fired a shot and hit John, causing him to retreat.
Police did not immediately say whether John Geer was armed or why the officer decided to open fire, nor would they discuss the details of the conversation between the officers and Geer before the shooting. Geer’s father says that he was too far away to hear the conversation, but claims that a detective assigned to investigate the case told him that his son that his son was not holding a gun at the time of the shooting and that he did not have one on his person.
“It was very scary because I’ve never seen coming down the street a SWAT team — I mean, a SWAT team?!” exclaimed neighbor Valerie Findley.
The armored truck mounted with a long battering ram. (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
The armored truck mounted with a long battering ram. (Source: ABC7 WIJA)
Neither Geer’s father nor his good friend understand why the standoff ended in the death of a man with no prior convictions for violence. They do not believe that John was armed at the time, though both acknowledge that he owned a gun. Geer’s father said that the detective in charge of the investigation told him that a holstered handgun was found on the stairway landing a “couple of steps” from the front door where he was shot.
“If he doesn’t have a weapon in his immediate possession, the officer should not have fired,” Don Geer said. “He would have to have turned around, bent over and then picked up the gun to present a threat. It’s pretty hard to say the shooting was justifiable.”
The officer involved was placed on routine administrative leave while the investigation continues, and police are remaining tight-lipped about the details of the incident. Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler said that the shooting is still an active criminal investigation adding that he could not provide more information about what happened, or address neighborhood concerns just yet. They have not yet revealed what justification, if any, their officer had for shooting Geer. The police said in a written statement, “Precise movements, contents of the discussion between officer [and the] man, and all pertinent matters relating to the incident are under investigation.”
SWAT team enter through rammed entryway (Source: myfoxdc.com)
SWAT team enter through rammed entryway
(Source: myfoxdc.com)
“It’s my goal when I can legally share that information with the community,
I will,” Roessler told News4. In September,
investigators confirmed that Geer had been unarmed, according to WJLA.
The police response arguably escalated the situation instead of defusing it.
This is a recurring theme in a string of examples of how police suffer from a dearth
of training in how to deal with unarmed, uncooperative citizens
who had not been charged with committing any crime.
What police lack in empathetic response,
they more than compensate for with an excess of military toys and the use of force.
Their unsubstantiated concern for the safety of the public notwithstanding,
the police are required to seek a warrant from an impartial magistrate
before engaging in the search of private property and seizing of persons.
The allegation by an equally emotional girlfriend that John Geer
was an owner of firearms does not constitute probable cause to violate his rights
and ultimately end his life.
As John Geer had not yet committed any offense to warrant his arrest,
and with his family already off-site, police should have defused the situation
by themselves leaving the scene.
Refusing to be forced from your home or to allow agents of the state
to enter without a warrant is not an offense punishable by execution.
And though his mental state was, in the words of his friend Jeff Stewart,
“emotionally wrecked that day,” the antagonistic response
from the state cannot be touted as a positive outcome by any reasonable standard.
{ Support Police State USA }
WJLA Channel 7 and NBC 4 Washington interviewed witnesses and obtained video of the incident. View them below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gb1o9YO8uc
Unarmed man shot to death by police
Accountability
John Geer’s family and neighbors are demanding answers
for what they believe was an overreaction by police. Demand justice via the contacts below:
Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
Phone: (703) 246-2253
Email: FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
Facebook: Fairfax County PD
http://www.policestateusa.com/2013/john-geer-shot-by-police/
