Thousands of recently released documents in the shooting death of a suburban Washington, D.C., man nearly two years ago show a police officer mad at a colleague for the shooting. The case garnered a lot of attention, including from an Iowa senator who was following it and pressuring the county for information.
John Geer, 46, was fatally shot by police officer in the doorway of his Springfield, Va., home after officers came to investigate a domestic dispute report. According to the newly released documents, Geer’s partner had told police there were weapons in the home, but Geer was unarmed at the time of the shooting and was speaking to police for more than 30 minutes in his doorway.
The documents mention that Geer spoke to Officer Torres and said, “Can you not point that gun at me?” and Barnes said he told Torres to take his finger off the trigger and point the gun at the ground. Barnes, who is an experienced hostage negotiator, said the two officers continued to speak with Geer and that Barnes all of sudden heard “pow,” and Geer fell back inside the house. Barnes looked around and asked who fired, and that Officer Torres said, “I did it. I’m sorry. My wrist, oh man, I’m sorry.”
Officer Torres told investigators that he was justified in shooting Geer because Geer moved and looked like he was going for his gun, which Torres said Geer told the officers was on the floor inside the house. Torres said he commented about his wrist because it felt stiff from holding it tightly for a long time.
Police say Geer did not answer when they called out for him after the shooting, but Geer’s family says it took police 40 minutes to help him after he was shot and he ended up bleeding to death. A police SWAT team found Geer inside the home already dead. They also founded a loaded firearm next to Geer and several other weapons inside the home.
The case caught the attention of Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, who said he had heard about it on the news and was wondering what was taking the police department so long to release information on the case, including keeping the names of the officers involved under wraps, and why county prosecutors weren’t getting any information from the police until the U.S. Justice Department and a local judge stepped in.
