Fairfax County’s police union bashed the municipality’s top prosecutor for advancing a “politically motivated” case that saw an ex-officer convicted in the deadly shooting of a fleeing shoplifter.
The Fairfax County chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association skewered Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano over his decision to push for a special grand jury against a former police sergeant in the fatal February 2023 shooting.
The jury found Wesley Shifflett guilty last week of reckless handling of a firearm in the killing of shoplifter Timothy Johnson. The jury absolved the ex-officer of the most serious charge, involuntary manslaughter.
That verdict came about only because Mr. Descano, a Democrat prosecutor who has been backed by liberal billionaire George Soros, decided to convene the special grand jury after an initial grand jury declined to indict Shifflett.
The special grand jury gave Mr. Descano greater influence in the charging process.
“Instead of honoring this decision, Mr. Descano opted to bypass standard legal procedures and convene a special grand jury,” the union said in a statement, which was first obtained by local ABC affiliate WJLA-TV. “This demonstrated his continued manipulation of the judicial system, one that he has sworn to uphold, in favor of avenues that further his personal political agendas.”
Shifflett faces anywhere from one to five years behind bars when he returns to court for sentencing in February.
The former sergeant shot and killed Johnson, 37, in a wooded area outside Tysons Corner Mall after the thief stole two pairs of sunglasses and fled the shopping center.
Shifflet testified that he saw Johnson fidget with his waistband during the pursuit. The officer fired two shots at the suspect moments later.
No gun was found on Johnson, who eventually died at a hospital.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis fired Shifflett shortly after the incident, but said the body camera footage wasn't clear about how much of a threat Johnson presented in the heat of the moment.
The prosecution nearly upended its case when in closing arguments it used a clip from Shifflett’s body camera that wasn’t submitted for evidence.
The clip was from moments after Shifflett shot Johnson and captured the ex-sergeant telling other officers that he ordered Johnson to “show me your hands.”
Shifflett never made that order, according to his body camera footage during the pursuit.
Prosecutors argued that Shifflett made up the quote because he knew he was in the wrong, but the former cop’s defense team said it would seek a mistrial over the faulty evidence.
The prosecution acknowledged the error, and the defense relented.
The judge instructed the jury to forget the clip during deliberations, but the union characterized the clip as a convenient lapse in judgment to serve the prosecution’s case.
“Although this was not the only procedural and ethical error made by his office throughout the trial, it was certainly the most serious and negligent,” the statement said. “This error had highly prejudicial consequences, as Sgt. Shifflett, along with qualified court-recognized expert witnesses, were not allowed to counter the evidence with their own testimony.”
Mr. Descano, who was elected in 2019 and won reelection last year, campaigned in part on holding officers accountable for misconduct.
— This article is based in part on wire service reports
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