FAIRFAX, Virginia — Adam Torres, the first Fairfax County police officer ever convicted of an on-duty shooting has been released from jail, five days after being sentenced for the involuntary manslaughter death of John Geer.
Torres, 33, wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts and carrying a large plastic bag of personal belongings, declined to answer questions as he was released shortly after 8 a.m. from the Fairfax County jail.
He was greeted inside the facility by several people, who appeared to be family and friends. Torres was escorted to a car parked near the jail entrance, and left without speaking.
In a hearing last Friday, Torres was sentenced to a year in jail, after a plea arrangement with prosecutors, which a judge approved.
Torres’ bond had been revoked when he was indicted on a charge of murder, in Geer’s death. He had been in the Fairfax jail since August 2015.
Torres shot Geer, 46, Springfield, Virginia, in August 2013. At the time of the shooting, Geer was at his own home, standing in a doorway. The shooting came at the end of a 40-minute standoff that started with a domestic-dispute call. Geer was unarmed at the time of the shooting, and witnesses say he had his hands up.
Prosecutor Ray Morrogh said the 10 months Torres served before agreeing to plead guilty to a reduced charge was roughly equivalent to the time he would normally spend in jail after sentencing.
Geer’s partner, and mother of Geer’s children, had approved of the plea arrangement.
Anne Geer, the victim’s mother, had vehemently opposed the deal and sentence, saying one year in prison was not justice for her son.
Torres was fired from the Fairfax County Police Department after being indicted. Earlier, the county had paid Geer’s family $2.95 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit.
The shooting prompted Fairfax County to review use of force and community relations polices in the police department.
Breaking: Fmr Fairfax Co police officer Adam Torres walks out of jail. He shot, killed unarmed John Geer. (VIdeo) pic.twitter.com/IRQGVnDKP9
— Neal Augenstein (@AugensteinWTOP) June 29, 2016
