We seem to be approaching a very unsatisfying outcome to the three year-old saga that followed the tragic and completely unnecessary shooting of John Geer, an unarmed resident of my own community of Springfield, Virginia. In August, 2013, Mr. Geer’s domestic partner informed him that she would be leaving him after over 20 years together. Mr. Geer became upset and began throwing her property out into the yard of their Springfield rowhouse. She called the police. Upon their arrival the police held Mr. Geer at gunpoint for 40 minutes while he stood, hands up, in the doorway of this own home. Then, inexplicably, Officer Adam Torres of the Fairfax County Police Department fired is weapon, striking Mr. Geer in the chest. The police then infinitely compounded the tragedy by leaving Mr. Geer lying wounded in is doorway for an hour while he bled to death. According to the Washington Post, Geer’s lifeless body lay sprawled on the ground where fell five and a half hours after he was shot. Fairfax County then proceeded to add hideous insult to this fatal injury by refusing, for 17 months, to release any significant information on the shooting to Mr. Geer’s family. Only a wrongful death lawsuit finally pried anything out of the County. Ultimately the County bowed to public pressure by firing Torres from the Fairfax County Police Department almost two years after the killing and empanelling a grand jury, which indicted Torres for second degree murder. A few days ago, Torres pleaded guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter, with the Commonwealth agreeing to a paltry sentence of 12 months in jail, with credit for 8 months time served.
In essence, John Geer was shot dead in his own home for throwing a temper tantrum, and his killer, while pleading to a felony, will end up serving a sentence commensurate with a class I misdemeanor. What a sad and unsatisfying outcome to such an unnecessary tragedy.