FAIRFAX, Va. — A jury on Friday acquitted a former police officer in Virginia of involuntary manslaughter after he fatally shot a shoplifting suspect exterior a busy shopping center.
But the jury did convict the previous police sergeant, Wesley Shifflett, of reckless dealing with of a firearm in reference to the capturing.
Prosecutors argued that Shifflett, then a sergeant with Fairfax County Police, acted recklessly when he shot and killed an unarmed man, Timothy McCree Johnson, after a brief foot chase exterior Tysons Corner Center in February 2023.
Shifflett testified in his personal protection and claimed self protection. He mentioned he noticed Johnson, 37, reaching into his waistband after falling down through the chase, and he was nervous that Johnson may be drawing a weapon.
“At that second, that was probably the most scared I had been in my life as a result of I believed at any second he would pull out a gun and simply begin capturing me,” he mentioned throughout his testimony at trial, later including: “I didn’t have the posh to attend and see a gun as a result of I knew right away I might be useless.”
During cross-examination and in closing arguments, prosecutors criticized Shifflett’s choices main as much as the capturing, together with his option to chase Johnson into the wooded space at evening earlier than ready for backup or turning on a flashlight.
Prosecutor Jenna Sands argued that Shifflett’s choice to fireplace two photographs, on the run, in a crowded space, constituted reckless discharge of a firearm.
Shifflett mentioned he acknowledged {that a} wooded space in the dead of night escalates the hazard concerned in a foot chase. But he mentioned, “We are positioned in plenty of harmful conditions. There’s a duty to uphold legislation and order.”
The dimly lit bodycam video of the video, which was proven to jurors, is inconclusive as as to whether Johnson reached into his waistband.
It does clearly depict Shifflett yelling “get on the bottom” earlier than firing two photographs at Johnson. After the photographs have been fired, Shifflett instantly yelled “cease reaching” and informed different officers that he noticed Johnson reaching in his waistband.
During cross-examination, Sands requested Shifflett about capturing Johnson earlier than commanding that the sufferer “cease reaching.”
“My motor features have been working extra rapidly than I might verbalize,” Shifflett mentioned.
The video additionally reveals Johnson’s dying phrases, saying “I wasn’t reaching for nothing. … I’m shot and I’m bleeding.”
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis fired Shifflett shortly after the capturing for violating the division’s use-of-force insurance policies. But when Davis publicly launched the bodycam video of the capturing, he acknowledged the video’s ambiguity.
“More usually than not, the police physique digital camera footage speaks for itself,” Davis mentioned on the time. “This time, it doesn’t.”
Prosecutors struggled at factors to current their case in opposition to Shifflett. Initially, a grand jury declined to indict him. At that time, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, who received workplace on a marketing campaign platform that included holding law enforcement officials accountable for misconduct, convened a particular grand jury that operated underneath guidelines that gave Descano extra oversight over the method.
The particular grand jury returned indictments on costs together with involuntary manslaughter and reckless dealing with of a firearm.
The trial confronted a number of delays after it started final month. The lead prosecutor suffered a extreme medical challenge and was changed by one other legal professional, inflicting a delay of a number of days. During closing arguments, prosecutors performed for the jury a snippet of Shifflett’s bodycam video that had not been entered as proof at trial, briefly elevating considerations a couple of mistrial earlier than protection attorneys opted in opposition to requesting one.
Shifflett shall be sentenced in February on the reckless discharge of a firearm cost. The crime is a felony punishable by as much as 5 years in jail.