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Two Fairfax, Virginia sheriff’s lieutenants were cleared in an internal investigation into a report on an allegedly heated confrontation last year between the county’s left-wing prosecutor and guards at the courthouse security checkpoint. The law enforcement officers’ names, however, are still on the Brady List, which tracks law enforcement officer’s credibility and misconduct problems.
“Oftentimes, at most police departments if you end up on Brady your chances for a promotion or even staying employed within the police department are gone for good,” Ali Soheilian, president of the Virginia Police Benevolent Association Fairfax County Chapter, told Fox 5.
Lt. Christopher Blaine and Lt. Mona Williams wrote up the official report for an incident at a courthouse on Sept. 28 after George Soros-backed Attorney Steve Descano and his chief deputy Kyle Manikas reached the required security checkpoint.
Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano at security checkpoint on Sept. 28. (Fox 5: Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office)
The two had a confrontation with Allied Security officers, which reportedly got heated. The report states Descano and Manikas were being “unprofessional” and abusive toward staff, including allegedly cursing at them over security measures.
“Don’t you know who I am?” Descano said, according to the report. “I’m the top law enforcement officer in Fairfax County.”
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He also threw his umbrella directly into the X-Ray machine, according to the report.
Descano and Manikas denied the report’s findings, with Manikas calling them “false and misleading” in a memo in November of last year. The memo notified the sheriff’s office internal affairs department that Blaine and Williams were being placed on the Brady list and prosecutors could deny prosecuting cases they work on.
Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano at security checkpoint on Sept. 28. (Fox 5: Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office)
(fox 5 )
Blaine and Williams are still on the list, even though they have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an internal investigation.
“I stand by Second Lieutenant’s Blaine and Williams and the thorough Internal Affairs investigation, which determined the allegations against them to be unfounded. My deputies did nothing wrong, and I will continue to do everything in my power to right the wrongs done to these hard-working public servants,” Sheriff Stacey Kincaid told Fox 5.
Descano said the confrontation “got blown way out of proportion.”
“I did not curse at these gentleman,” Descano told Fox 5 of his run-in with the security guards.
“I was trying to explain to them, you don’t realize, all the prosecutors here they work for me, I’m the boss of this office,” Descano said when asked about the report stating he told the guards, “Don’t you know who I am?”
The confrontation was caught on security cameras, but does not have audio.
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Descano said the video doesn’t show the full picture of the confrontation, including two officers bypassing the security checkpoint even though everyone in the courthouse had to be checked that day.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney Office said in November that Blaine and Williams were put on the Brady list for either making intentionally untruthful statements, for not actually watching the security footage or watching the footage but were “grossly incompetent in their duties,” Fox 5 reported at the time.
American University Law Professor Cynthia Jones said at the time that she’s “not ever heard of the Brady list being used in this way.”
Descano and Manikas also refused to participate in the internal investigation despite requests to do so, Fox 5 reported, which Soheilian called a bad example of leadership.
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“They should be compelled to tell the truth and the whole truth like the rest of us are,” Soheilian said.
Fairfax County police car (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP/ Getty Images)
(Eric BARADAT / AFP/ Getty Images)
When asked if it was important to have every witness involved in the investigation, Descano said “it’s important to get the witnesses that have something to say relevant to the investigation. But, again, the investigation was about the writing of the report.”
Ed Nuttall, an attorney for the two sheriff lieutenants, said his office is exploring legal options on the matter.
“We are concerned that the lack of investigation by the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office has put these officers in a difficult situation where their careers are on the line. We are currently exploring their legal options,” he told Fox 5.
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Descano won his election as the commonwealth’s attorney in 2019 after receiving $600,000 from Soros.
