NAACP Demands Independent Investigation Into Fatal Police Shooting Of Suspect At Tysons

TYSONS, VA — The Fairfax County NAACP on Monday called for an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Timothy Johnson by Fairfax County police officers last Wednesday night.

The civil rights group also asked for the immediate release of the police body-worn camera footage of the deadly confrontation with Johnson, who lived in Washington, D.C., and the identity of the police officers involved.

The 37-year-old Johnson, who is Black, was shot and killed by two Fairfax County police officers after allegedly stealing sunglasses from the Nordstrom department store at Tysons Corner Center.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, loss prevention workers at the mall reported a man taking designer sunglasses around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22, before leaving the store and setting off an anti-theft alarm.

Police were alerted to the alleged theft and then two officers from the FCPD’s Tysons Urban Team chased Johnson through a parking garage, a parking lot, and into a wooded area, where he was killed by a bullet wound to the chest.

The Tysons Urban Team is a group of about 16 Fairfax County police officers assigned to the Tysons Corner area.

Johnson was shot after officers told him to get on the ground, according to police. At a news conference last Wednesday night, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said one of the officers who fired his gun was a uniformed officer and the other officer who fired his weapon was a plainclothes police officer.

Following a search of the area, police confirmed Friday that no weapon was found in the wooded area where officers shot and killed Johnson, WUSA9 reported.

"The tragic killing of Mr. Johnson reminds us once again how unjust America's policing truly is. The facts as we know them signal that the officers' actions were entirely out of step with FCPD's use of force policy," Michelle Leete, Fairfax County NAACP president, said in a statement Monday.

READ ALSO: Police Fatally Shoot DC Man Suspected Of Stealing Sunglasses At Tysons

According to the Fairfax County NAACP, the police department's use of force policy makes clear that a fleeing suspect who is not a danger to the police or the general public is not cause for a police officer to discharge his or her firearm.

Under FCPD’s use of force policy, officers are not permitted to use deadly force on a fleeing suspect without “probable cause to believe the individual committed a felony involving violence,” exhausting “all other means to effect an arrest,” and the alleged offender’s escape “poses a significant threat of serious injury or death to the officer or others.”

“Suspicion of stealing a few pairs of sunglasses without the use or possession of a weapon does not satisfy any — much less all — of these requirements,” the Fairfax County NAACP said Monday. “Whether or not Mr. Johnson was guilty of a crime, he had the right to due process, and for the sanctity of his life to be respected by police officers to the maximum extent possible.”

The Fairfax County NAACP said it is disappointed the FCPD has failed so far to produce "substantive information" about the fatal shooting. The group also said it is disappointed the police department has yet to produce any information about the disciplinary records of the veteran police officers involved in this incident.

At last Wednesday night's news conference, Davis said the bodycam footage of the incident will be released to the community within 30 days. In accordance with the FCPD's guidelines and its practice in any officer-involved shooting incidents, the officers names will be released within 10 days, the department said.

Prior to the public release of the body-worn camera footage, the FCPD will share this footage with the family, according to the department.

In its news release, the Fairfax County NAACP said it is unclear how the protocol for officer-involved shootings is handled, "specifically how much time elapses after shootings before officers are first questioned and the involvement of police unions during the investigations and adjudications of an officer-involved shooting."

On Monday, the FCPD reiterated that its internal affairs bureau is conducting an administrative investigation in accordance with department policy, along with an independent review by the police auditor. The criminal investigation into last Wednesday's fatal shooting is being conducted by the department's Major Crimes Bureau.

The results of the criminal investigation will be presented to the Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.

"Our policies set the standards and expectations for all our officers’ actions and help guide the department’s training curriculum," the FCPD said in a statement Monday emailed to Patch. "A key part of our department’s proactive strategy is our continual review and update of all our policies. We do this to ensure we are incorporating national best-practices and feedback."

At last Wednesday night's news conference, Davis said the person who was killed outside Tysons Corner Center earlier that evening was "well known" to law enforcement agencies in the Washington, D.C., area and had a "violent criminal history." Davis did not name the person who police killed, citing a need to notify Johnson's next of kin before releasing his name.

In its news release, the Fairfax County NAACP noted that Davis was quick to point out Johnson’s alleged “violent history” and past offenses.

"Regardless of Mr. Johnson's history, the facts revealed to date show that he was unarmed and suspected to be in possession of stolen sunglasses when fatally shot by officers," the Fairfax County NAACP said. "This attempt to immediately smear the victim is ironic considering Chief Davis himself has a violent history, with two citizens having won civil lawsuits against Davis in use-of-force cases."

The Fairfax County NAACP noted Monday that it "vociferously opposed" the selection of Davis as chief of police in 2021.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors members were aware of two civil lawsuits filed against Davis when he was an officer in Prince George's County, Maryland, before he was sworn in as police chief, Jeff McKay, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, told Patch in May 2021.

"Yet the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, over opposition from many different groups and individuals in the community, still selected him," the Fairfax County NAACP said. "They are as responsible as Chief Davis is for the public safety crisis we are currently facing."

The civil rights group said it found "deeply troubling" the rise in officer-involved shootings in Fairfax County, from six in 2022 compared to one in 2021, according to data on the Fairfax County Police Department's website.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the Johnson family with the funeral costs and provide financial support to Johnson's two children.

"Please help Tim's family with burial expenses and offer some financial support for the 2 children (Izaiha, 12 years old, and Saniya, 9 years old) he leaves behind," the GoFundMe site reads.

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