A jury began deliberations Thursday on whether a former police officer who fatally shot a shoplifting suspect last year outside a busy northern Virginia shopping mall should be convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Wesley Shifflett testified that he shot Timothy McCree Johnson in self defense in a wooded area outside Tysons Corner Center after a short foot chase because he saw Johnson reaching into his waistband, possibly for a gun.
Johnson, as it turns out, was unarmed. Prosecutors say Shifflett acted recklessly by chasing Johnson into a dark, wooded area and firing two shots without ever identifying a firearm.
The case was sent to the jury Thursday afternoon after a mishap Wednesday that threatened to derail the trial. During prosecutors' closing arguments Wednesday, the government mistakenly played a snippet of video taken from Shifflett's body worn camera a few minutes after the shooting that had never been introduced at trial. In the clip, Shifflett explains to other officers that he told Johnson “show me your hands,” something he never actually said to Johnson before or after firing the shots.
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Prosecutors went on to argue that Johnson made up the quote in his explanation to officers because he already knew that “he messed up.”
Defense lawyers objected and said after Wednesday's hearing they intended to seek a mistrial because of the mistake, which prosecutors acknowledged was an error.
On Thursday, though, defense lawyers —apparently pleased with how the case is shaping up — made no request for a mistrial. Judge Randy Bellows simply instructed jurors to ignore that portion of prosecutors' argument.
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Shifflett's defense lawyer, Caleb Kershner, said during his closing argument Thursday that Shifflett reasonably believed his life was in danger when he saw Johnson reaching for his waistband. While Shifflett thought at the time Johnson was reaching for a gun, Kershner speculated that Johnson was actually trying to get rid of the designer sunglasses he had stolen from a Nordstrom department store that prompted the chase in the first place.
He cautioned the jury against judging Shifflett's split-second decision in hindsight and cited what he said is an old axiom among police officers: "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six."
In her rebuttal closing Thursday, prosecutor Jenna Sands told the Jury that even if they believe Shifflett when he says he saw Johnson reaching for his waistband, they should still convict him of involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm..
She said his decision to pursue Johnson into a dark wooded area over an allegation of stolen sunglasses was reckless and unreasonable, as was his decision to fire two shots on the run in a crowded area.
The dimly lit bodycam video of the video is inconclusive as to whether Johnson reached into his waistband.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis fired Shifflett shortly after the shooting for violating the department's use-of-force policies. But when Davis publicly released the bodycam video of the shooting, he acknowledged the ambiguity of the video.
“More often than not, the police body camera footage speaks for itself,” Davis said at the time. “This time, it does not.”
The jury deliberated for about three hours Thursday before going home, to return Friday. They sent a note asking questions about the range of Shifflett's gun and the distance from which he fired, but they were told that the court cannot provide them any more information beyond what is already in evidence.
Prosecutors' efforts to present their case against Shifflett have not gone smoothly. Initially, a grand jury declined to indict Shifflett. At that point, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, who won office on a campaign platform that included holding police officers accountable for misconduct, convened a special grand jury that operated under rules that gave Descano more oversight over the process.
The special grand jury returned indictments on charges including involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm.
The trial was delayed for several days when the lead prosecutor suffered a serious medical issue. A different prosecutor stepped in after several days.
