Letter to the Editor: Assessing the Practices of the Fairfax County Police Department

The following is a letter to the editor from Patch reader and local community member John Lovaas, who recently served on a commission tasked with assessing the Fairfax County Police Department and its practices:

Since Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova asked me to serve on the Ad Hoc Commission to review police practices (formed after the fatal shooting of John Geer by a county officer, followed by 18 months of police department stonewalling the public and the Commonwealth Attorney), I’ve begun taking a look at the department—its composition, compensation, employee organizations, culture, and its relationship to civilian authority.

The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) was created in 1940. Its Chief is appointed by the supervisors and reports to the county executive. It is a large organization befitting a county of about 1.1 million people.

FCPD has 1,400 sworn, armed officers in addition to 350 civilian staff members. FCPD is a modern, professional force and does a pretty good job keeping the crime rate low. It is well organized and operates on the basis of clear, detailed policies and procedures.

Fairfax County offers new recruits with a high school diploma or better training and careers with job security and good pay with benefits. A new recruit starts at around $48,000 per year and higher-ups make up to $170,000. As years of service build, it is possible with overtime pay to make over $100,000 a year in the middle ranks.

In this respect, they are better paid than teachers, for example. While public sector unions are illegal (this is Virginia, after all), sworn officers (not civilian employees) are served by several union-like organizations, including the Fairfax Coalition of Police, the Fairfax County Police Association (FCPA), the Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and Lodge 77.

These organizations and others lobby the Board of Supervisors for higher wages and benefits for officers as well as lobbying the Virginia General Assembly for better working conditions. FCPA benefits include legal services, life insurance, and replacement of an officer’s weapon “when they are involved in a shooting that results in the confiscation of their off-duty weapon.”

FOP is an advocate, at times a stridently political one, for police officers. It has been known to sharply criticize the Attorney General, national black leaders and the media. Take a look at “What is a Policeman,” a brief, hard-hitting video on the FOP website with their view of policing today.

Although there is no collective bargaining in Fairfax County, the presence and character of union-like organizations lobbying the elected supervisors clearly influences the relationship. Also, these organizations play a role in elections, providing volunteer manpower and campaign money for candidates for supervisor, largely incumbents. This may explain the apparent reticence of the supervisors to exercise their role as the civilian authority vis a vis the police.

Currently, the police department does not resemble our community. Based on recent statistics, people of Asian/Pacific Islander heritage make up 18.4 percent of the Fairfax County population, but make up only 4.4 percent of our police force. Latinos represent 16.2 percent of the population, but only 4.9 percent of the force; and, African-Americans make up 9.7 percent of the county but only 7.3 percent of our police.

Whites account for a surprising 83.35 percent. For a County that considers itself a leader, these are troubling numbers. Did I mention that women make up only 13 percent of the force?

As citizens, we assume police will be there when we need them to “protect and serve” us when there is a problem with the law or we feel threatened. It might be a traffic problem, or a disagreement with tempers flaring, or people in trouble (e.g., emotional breakdowns, domestic disputes) or a crime. We ask and expect a lot of the men and women who serve in these roles, even putting their lives on the line for us.

Our relationship depends on trust and mutual respect. Today, citizen-police relationships are troubled in America, even here. The shooting deaths of John Geer and others, including Dr. Salvatore Culosi, have weakened the trust. We need to understand why and take steps to rebuild it. More next time.