A former Fairfax County, Virginia, police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man suspected of shoplifting from the Tysons Corner Center mall, has been indicted by a special grand jury.
Sgt. Wesley Shifflett was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm, according to the office of Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.
Shifflett shot Timothy McCree Johnson, 37, on Feb. 22 after Shifflett and another officer chased Johnson on foot outside the mall after getting a report that a man had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom store.
“The work of public safety includes charging officers for crimes when such actions are legally warranted,” Descano said in a statement. “After reviewing the evidence in this case, I believe that probable cause existed that Shifflett committed a crime, and that the entirety of the evidence should be put to a jury of community members.”
This is the second grand jury to investigate the shooting. In April, an initial grand jury declined to indict Shifflett on any charges.
At the time, Descano released a statement expressing his disappointment and pointing out that, under the law, prosecutors were not allowed to be in the room when the Fairfax County police officers who investigated the shooting made their presentation to the grand jury.
“Not being allowed to be in that room, we had questions — we had a blank spot in terms of what actually got said,” Descano told WTOP in an interview Thursday.
Later, Descano requested a special grand jury investigate the case. The use of a special grand jury is a rare step and allows prosecutors to be in the room with grand jurors for the presentation of evidence. Descano said he was able to make sure that a “fulsome presentation” was made to the grand jurors.
Shifflett was fired by the department after the shooting for what Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis called a “failure to live up to the expectations of our agency.”
Body camera footage released by the department showed Shifflett and a plainclothes officer chasing Johnson outside the mall after he triggered an anti-theft device. The video showed officers pursuing Johnson into a dark, wooded area where Johnson was shot.
An attorney for Johnson’s family likened the shooting to an execution.
Descano said he has met with Johnson’s mother and other family members over the months since the shooting as he worked to secure an indictment.
“I know that an indictment — nothing — is ever going to bring him at the back, but my hope is that they feel seen they feel heard, and that that this is yet another step on their journey towards healing.”
In an emailed statement, Shifflett’s attorney Caleb Kershner blasted Descano’s office for seeking the special grand jury.
“He had to assemble a special grand jury so he could control the process and get an indictment,” Kershner said in the email. “It’s purely political and shameful.”
Carl Crews, an attorney representing Johnson’s family, told The Associated Press Thursday that he believes the charges are appropriate based on the evidence and the law.
An arraignment has been set for Oct. 20.
The Associated Press and WTOP’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.
