Who shot Greg Rosson? ID of police officer still secret

August 16 was Gregory Rosson's 22nd birthday. His family brought flowers, his two dogs, and sang "Happy Birthday" to him— at Prize Hill Cemetery in Boonesville, where he was buried June 14. They also planned a bonfire because that's what he'd said he wanted before he died.

 

More than two months since Rosson was shot by an Albemarle police officer, questions remain for his family about the June 8 slaying, including the identity of the officer who killed him, and what the circumstances were that required lethal force. They also cite inconsistencies in the Virginia State Police press release issued following Rosson's death and information in the search warrant issued just hours after the shooting.

According to the state police press release, a 911 call was placed at 2:16am June 8 about a domestic disturbance in the 9000-block of Rockfish Gap Turnpike on Afton Mountain. The Albemarle police officer who arrived on the scene saw a female being assaulted. "The suspect ran towards the officer who fired his weapon," said the release.

Rosson's sister, Lauren Moore, finds it strange that the search warrants written within hours of the shooting by Virginia State Police Special Agent B.D. Tuggle provide a different scenario: "An Albemarle County Police Officer responded to a domestic and upon arrival observed a male assaulting a female, the officer gave the male commands to stop but he did not stop and the officer subsequently shot the male to stop the threat."

Moore notes that the warrant doesn't say anything about Rosson running toward the officer. "Why wasn't that written in the officer's statement?" she asks.

The same warrant to search a tan single-wide trailer with an addition, the curtilage, and all vehicles at 9049 Rockfish Gap Turnpike lists an inventory of what was recovered: a magazine, four cartridge cases, and a beer can. Police also retrieved a wallet, phone charger and iPhone belonging to Rosson.

It was Rosson's mother who had placed the 911 call, fearing for the safety of her son and his former girlfriend. "I told them Greg had a mental condition, and he had an alter personality," says Denise Rosson. "And when it was out, he was mean."

Denise Rosson says she'd been on the phone with the woman and could hear her say, "Greg, stop it," and the phone would go dead. She called back and talked to her son. "He said he was going to choke her out," she says. That's when she called 911. "I told them his alter was out. I could tell that was his alter."

Rosson had been in trouble with police before, and following a brawl with officers at a Greenwood gas station in December, he'd been diagnosed with dissociative personality disorder. He was scheduled to be in court June 11 for assaulting an officer and disarming an officer of a stun gun.

In 2009, Rosson also had an accident in which he drove a Chevy Malibu into the Crozet Library. He was hospitalized for weeks, and charged with reckless driving. That's why his mother doubts the police account that he was running toward an officer before he was shot. "He couldn't run after the wreck," she says. "Some days he couldn't walk."

Albemarle police have steadfastly refused to identify the officer who killed Rosson, citing the ongoing investigation by the Virginia State Police, which is now complete, Colonel Steve Sellers told the Hook a few weeks ago. Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford, who will determine whether criminal charges will be filed, is reviewing the findings. At press time, she had not returned a phone call from the Hook.

"After she reviews it, more information will be released regarding the shooting," says Albemarle police spokesperson Carter Johnson.

The deadly force in the Afton Mountain incident was the fourth shooting by an area police officer in six months: On December 26, an Albemarle police officer fired and missed during a stand-off on Rio Mills Road that ended in a murder-suicide. During a fray at the Elks Lodge on Second Street NW March 16, a Charlottesville police officer shot and wounded a man who was holding a gun. Another Charlottesville man was wounded May 26 at his Birdwood Court residence when two Albemarle police officers came to investigate a felony hit-and-run.

In the two city shootings, Charlottesville Police identified the officers who discharged their weapons within days of the incidents, and in both cases, the shootings were found justifiable.

Greg Rosson's family is having a hard time understanding why it's been 10 weeks since his death and they still don't know the name of the public servant who killed him.

"It's still a nightmare because they're not telling us anything," says Moore. "How would they feel if this happened to their family member?"

And his mother questions her decision to call 911 that night. "These days you don't know if you're going to call the cops for help and someone's going to end up dead," she says. "I'll never call the cops for help again."

11 comments

I think ta reasonable question that deserves an answer is when will Ms Lunsford find the time to review the situation and issue an answer. She should certainly be able to figure that out. The government telling the public that we will get it when its done is not only rude but unacceptable for an EMPLOYEE to say to an EMPLOYER which like ot or not thats what Ms Lunsford is.

Why we continually allow government officials boss us around makes no sense.

Bill...
I know many people like to use the meme that a cop is, by virtue of being a public employee, their employee, but in this day and age it's not truly true (if it ever was).
With the rise of a militarized police force in this country, Colonel Klink owns you and me, and will continue to do so until such time as he trips up in some way. Do any of you really believe that govt. isn't actually a mostly autonomous entity with only limited and rather random accountability?

If law enforcement would prefere both public trust and support ,may I suggest they not try so hard to look GUILTY.

---Moore notes that the warrant doesn't say anything about Rosson running toward the officer. "Why wasn't that written in the officer's statement?" she asks.

Could the the short answer be - Because it doesn't fit the narative of the outcome being designed after the fact by Law Enforcement.

Toni, They are not my employee, but they are certainly "our" employee and it is time the populace stopped allowing the government of a few subjigate the rest of us.

Denise Lunsford showed her true colors a few weeks ago when they had the license stop checkpoint and someone got upset. She basically told the Council to mind their own business. The Police under current law had the right to do what they did just as they have the "right " to be rude arrogant a-holes to taxpayers under current law. That means that the rules need to change. Since she has no regard for the Council they should tie her hands with new laws since she is obviously not qualified to carry them out responsibly with the proper respect for the citizenry. The same goes for Police officers as well. The elected Officials should mandate thet people dealing with the public show respect 100% of the time no matter how verbally rude someone gets. They can charge that person with assault for threats if they want but do it nicely as if the entire world were watching.

Do you think Travon Martin would be alive today if he called 911 and asked for help? The immediate answer is "yes" because the 911 operator would have put the two people involved together to shake hands, BUT that real truth is that if he had the odds are overwhelming that the cops would have rousted him and who knows what might have happened.

The government is too big too meddlesome and that is why people have long rap sheets with no jail time and others are tossed in jail forever for a small mistake.

I am okay with the Government taking its time and doing a through investigation of this matter but they should promise the family a resolution date. If they cannot come up with one then simply turn in your resignation so we can go to McDonalds and hire a french fry cook who can to take over and do it better.

What difference does it make if the family knows the officers name? Vengeance? Retaliation?

Bottom line is the guy would still be alive if he had simply stopped what he was doing. Attacking the women or attacking the police he did bring the final result into play.

I ma starting to wonder if the writer knows the family in some way given how she keeps kicking the same dead horse while only adding about 2 sentences worth of new information.

The importance of identifying the shooter here is the fact somebody needs to take notice if this is an ongoing problem with the particular officer involved. Does he/she consistently overreact in tense situations? Has his/her reputation for truthfulness in testimony come under close scrutiny in court in the past? Has he/she been disciplined for bad judgment calls in the past? Why does his/her version not match the Virginia State Police version of what happened now? Culpeper would have been much better off if they had reviewed their officer much sooner..... the who shot and killed a lady not long ago. Culpeper will pay the price for an officer that probably shouldn't have been carrying a badge and gun any longer! Is ACPD afraid of the same outcome, and they want to keep hiding the truth as long as they can? So many questions.......

Gasbag, read the freaking question before you begin to bloviate.

I read the question. The family may want to know for all the reasons I listed above..... and more. Had the deceased had problems with the same officer that eventually shot and killed him? Was the officer out for vengeance and retaliation?

Everyone on here complaining about the police, I got an ideal for you, move to Mexico or Russia where you will be happier with the law enforcement. The guy was a nut and was or going to choke his girlfriend out, that's his mothers words, and he obviously did not follow the orders of the police officer. OBEY the law and there is a 1 in a million chances you will ever find yourself looking down the barrel of a police officers gun..

Tim that is a non-sequitur. We complain about the police because this is OUR country and we have the right to disagree with the policies of it.

I don't know if the police did anything wrong in this situation, but sadly police in this country have destroyed all trust that we might have once had because

-they have frequently been caught lying and cover for each other when something goes wrong
-they have a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later, often murduring pets or even HUMANS claiming that they "feared for their life"
-they have become increasingly militarized and treat citizens as if we are enemy combatants, and not the people they have sworn to protect
-they have been given near complete immunity from punishment by federal law and are protected by their police unions, EXCEPT when they are whistle-blowers against their employer or fellow police officers, the unions help get them fired

You want to know why we complain about the police? Read this book and you'll know why:

http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/161039...

Now that the report has been released, with the police officer named, as well as the fact that is was Rosson's mother on the phone with 911 telling police that her son was choking his girlfriend and said son told his mother that she was next after he got done killing the girlfriend and that she didn't know if her son had a gun, PLUS the fact that the victim verified the fact that Rosson rushed the officer, saving her life make any of you feel like you owe an apology for all the nasty stuff you say about police??

No? I didn't think so.

As for this statement: "It was Rosson's mother who had placed the 911 call, fearing for the safety of her son and his former girlfriend."

I didn't read anything in the transcribed 911 call from Mom to indicate she was worried about her son's safety. She said that her son answered the girlfriend's phone and told his mother that he was chocking the girlfriend and when he finished he was coming to her house to do the same to her. Now, wonder why the first officer on the scene thought the girlfriend was in danger that required stopping the suspect by force???