FAIRFAX, Virginia — Opening statements and testimony began Wednesday in the process of a former Northern Virginia police officer charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of an unarmed man suspected of stealing sunglasses.
Prosecutors say former sergeant Wesley Shifflett recklessly discharged his service weapon in the killing of Timothy McCree Johnson, 37, near a busy shopping mall on Feb. 22, 2023.
Prosecutors say Shifflett and his team at the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office received a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen a pair of sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store in Tysons Corner Center. After identifying Johnson, Shifflett and another officer chased him into a heavily wooded area near the mall, where Shifflett shot the man twice.
Barry Zweig, the lead prosecutor, said in his opening statement that Shifflett fired two shots after ordering Johnson to the ground but just before he shouted, “Stop reaching.”
The other officer pursuing Johnson shot the victim after Shifflett opened fire, Zweig said, though Shifflett fired the fatal shot.
Caleb Kershner, Shifflett’s attorney, said his client feared for his life in the moments before the shooting. As Shifflett chased Johnson into the woods, Johnson tripped over some brush and knelt down, facing Shifflett. Kershner said Shifflett saw Johnson reach into his waistband and thought he had a gun. After the shooting, police searched for a weapon but found none.
“Unfortunately, Sgt. Shifflett does not have clairvoyance or x-ray vision,” Kershner said, adding, “His training told him to do exactly what he did.”
After the shooting, the Fairfax County Police Department fired Shifflett. Initially, there was a grand jury refused to prosecute him in the shooting, but the Fairfax County Prosecutor’s Office received court approval for a special grand jury to re-examine. The second panel indicted Shifflett last October.
In court, Lt. Michael Connor, who also worked on the Tysons team, said officers at the mall regularly encountered people concealing weapons and pursued suspects on a daily basis. On the night of the shooting, Connor said he was also responding to the suspected robbery when he heard gunfire outside the woods.
Connor’s body camera video, which was played in court, shows the lieutenant running toward Shifflett and checking him for injuries. In the moments after the shooting, Shifflett told him he saw Johnson reaching out, Connor testified.
The video shows people gathering around Johnson as he shouts, “Quick.”
Shortly after, Johnson is heard saying, “I ain’t reaching for nothing. I ain’t got nothing.”
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.