A Fairfax County jury found former Fairfax County police Sgt. Wesley Shifflett not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a man suspected of stealing two pairs of sunglasses from Nordstrom in Tysons Corner Center in February 2023.
The jury did find Shifflett guilty of reckless discharge of a weapon in the death of Timothy McCree Johnson, 37, of Washington, DC. That charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The jury deliberated Thursday and Friday.
Shifflett and another officer chased and shot Johnson in the dark in a wooded area near the mall after a security guard said Johnson stole sunglasses.
On the stand, Shifflett said he was the most scared he had been in his life and thought Johnson was going for a weapon in his waistband. Johnson ended up not being armed but had two pairs of glasses worth $850 from the store.
The jury during the prosecution’s closing argument for the case saw a video that was not in evidence. In it, Shifflett told a supervisor immediately after the shooting that he told Johnson to show his hands. Body-camera footage shows Shifflett telling Johnson to get on the ground.
The police department fired Shifflett a month after shooting. Chief Kevin Davis called Shifflett’s actions “a failure to live up to the expectations of our agency, in particular use of force policies.”
A special grand jury indicted Shifflett in October 2023 after a regular grand jury opted not to indict him.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
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