Newport News chief terminates cop following charges he
exposed himself in home's doorway
NEWPORT NEWS — A Newport News police officer facing criminal
charges in an indecent exposure and indecent liberties case was fired Friday by
Police Chief James Fox. Officer Christopher Roush, 41, who had been with the
police force for nearly 10 years, is planning to fight his termination through
the city's grievance procedure, said his lawyer, Robert W. Lawrence. Before his
firing, effective Friday, Roush had been on unpaid administrative leave for
more than three months. On April 7, he was arrested after people passing by
Roush's home on Harpersville Road told police that he had exposed himself to
them.
According to the criminal complaint, an officer responded to
the home about 9 a.m. and saw a man pointing to Roush's house from across the
street.The officer then turned to see Roush standing in his doorway
"entirely nude," holding the glass door open and pointing back
"at the citizen from across the street," the complaint said. When the
officer made a U-turn, the complaint said, "Mr. Roush withdrew into the
home and closed both the glass and the wooden door."
According to the complaint, police then spoke with a woman
who said she had seen a man standing on the front porch on the same April
morning, "holding the door open" with one hand and masturbating with
the other.
The woman told police that when she did a U-turn, the man
was still masturbating while on the front porch, the complaint said. Through a
photo spread, she identified Roush as the man she had seen, the complaint said.
Roush was initially charged with exposing himself to two
people and faced three misdemeanor counts.
But 10 additional counts — including a felony charge — were
filed in May, after four additional people claimed to have seen Roush exposing
himself.