Investigation Finds Vienna Police Harassment Claim 'Unfounded'

VIENNA, VA — The Town of Vienna has responded after two social media posts claimed inappropriate actions from the Vienna Police Department. An internal investigation concluded an Aug. 25 post claiming harassment of a Black man was "unfounded," and no improper police conduct was found in relation to an Aug. 30 Nextdoor post referencing an interrogation of a woman at Yeonas Park.

The Aug. 25 post was posted by a group peacefully protesting racial injustice related to law enforcement and funding of the new Vienna Police station, according to a town statement. The person writing the post identified himself as a 20-year-old African American man who has lived in the Town of Vienna for 11 years. He claimed a Vienna police officer stopped him on June 25 when he was walking home from a grocery store, detained him without cause, and took him home in a police car. The officer reportedly cited car thefts in the area and that the man may match a description.

The post claimed police tried to pressure the man's mother into making false accusations against her son related to a broken wall as a way to arrest him. After discussions at the home, police reportedly decided the man was only walking home and said they were only doing their job. But the man said in the post incidents like that made him scared to walk around Vienna "because of the color of my skin."

The town's internal investigation found a different story after obtaining information from the Fairfax County Public Safety Communications Department. The man had reportedly called 911 on June 25 seeking police help related to a domestic incident involving his mother, claiming she was infringing on his constitutional rights. Vienna Police responded to the domestic call related to room cleanliness and a hole in the wall that the man allegedly caused.

According to the town, the mother told investigators there was "no problem" with how officers responded on June 25 and said it was unclear why officers were following up. The man reportedly declined to speak with investigators.

"Police mediated between the two parties and then left the residence," reads a statement from the town. "A review of in-car video shows that the complainant was not transported in the back of a Vienna police vehicle for any reason on that date."

The other post on Aug. 30 was written on Nextdoor in Dunn Loring Woods, but a formal complaint was not submitted to police. In the post, the woman said she and her children were eating food at Yeonas Park. She said an officer pulled up and told her the location they were at private property, and the actual park was next to that property. But when she asked if she could move to the park, the officer reportedly asked for IDs. She claimed three police vehicles responded, and they were told to wait more than a few minutes.

"I feel harrassed. This abuse of power and intimidation is appalling," the post stated. "There was no justification for such an over the top reaction to an easily remedied situation. I could have just moved and avoided all if it."

According to the town's statement, in-car video determined the officer's actions were appropriate. The officer ran the vehicle tags because it was allegedly parked across three spaces at the private property of Vienna Little League fields, and the officer allegedly found an outstanding Missouri warrant for the vehicle’s owner. Although Missouri declined to request enforcement of the warrant because of transportation costs and nature of the criminal charge, the officer asked the woman to step out of her car to discuss the warrant "without disclosing it to her children." The town claimed the woman was told she could use the adjacent park.

Vienna Police attempted to contact the woman who posted the claim but has not responded to requests to be interviewed or file a complaint.

The town did not release in-car video for either incident.

"The Vienna Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct very seriously, and officers are expected to interact with all individuals, regardless of skin color, appropriately, respectfully, and, whenever possible, courteously," the statement from the Town of Vienna said.

Complaints about a police officer's conduct should be reported to the Vienna Police Department by calling 703-255-6366 or emailing police@viennava.gov, or a civil rights claim can be filed with the Department of Justice at civilrights.justice.gov.