Special Grand Jury To Probe Police Shooting Of Unarmed Man At Tysons Corner Center

TYSONS, VA — Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steven Descano was granted permission by a judge to convene a special grand jury to investigate a fatal police shooting of an unarmed shoplifting suspect outside Tysons Corner Center.

Descano’s decision to request the special grand jury comes after a regular Fairfax County grand jury chose not to indict Sgt. Wesley Shifflett, a Fairfax County police officer who shot and killed Timothy Johnson, an unarmed Black man suspected of shoplifting, on Feb. 22.

The office of Commonwealth’s Attorney had sought charges for involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm against Shifflett.

"After considering all options on a path forward, I have elected to request a special grand jury," Descano said in a statement Tuesday. "This is an ongoing matter and due to the sensitive nature of this case, we will not be commenting further at this time."

The only other time Descano has sought a special grand jury was in the case of the 2017 deadly shooting of Bijan Ghaisar, a 25-year-old McLean resident, by U.S. Park Police officers after a chase, The Washington Post reported. The charges in that case were ultimately dismissed by a federal judge. The family of Ghaisar recently settled with the federal government for $5 million, according to court filings.

The Johnson family’s lawyer, Carl Crews, said a judge approved Descano’s request to impanel a special grand jury.

READ ALSO: Fairfax Co. Grand Jury Declines To Indict Officer In Tysons Shooting

The rules are different for a special grand jury. In a regular grand jury, prosecutors are not in the room when police officers present evidence and testimony to the grand jurors. In a special grand jury, prosecutors are in the room asking questions of officers who give testimony.

Crews said in a previous statement that Fairfax County police detectives “turned the grand jury away from returning an indictment” in their presentation of evidence to the regular grand jury.

"I believe the commonwealth’s attorney is trying to get control over the case," Crews told Fox 5. "He’ll now have the ability to be in the room, and present the matter as he sees it."

In police shooting cases, prosecutors often opt for a grand jury to provide a political buffer. Grand jury proceedings are secret, while preliminary hearings in charges brought by a prosecutor before a judge are open to the public. Critics of secrecy rules argue that they run counter to the fairness and transparency of the justice system.

Shiftlett's lawyer, Caleb Kershner, told Fox 5 that he was shocked that Descano is presenting the case to a second grand jury. He said prosecutors should respect the judgment of the initial grand jury.

"It’s pretty clear they don’t want to respect the law, and they’re going to try hell or high water to get a charge," Kershner said.

The 37-year-old Johnson, who lived in Washington, D.C., was shot and killed by police after he was suspected of stealing sunglasses from the Nordstrom department store inside the mall.

On March 23, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Shifflett would be fired from the Fairfax police department. Davis said at a news conference that day that the firing was due to “a failure to live up to the expectations of our agency, in particular use of force policies.”

The other police officer involved in the shooting was placed on modified restricted duty.

On March 4, the department identified the two officers involved in the shooting as Shifflett, a seven-year veteran of the department, and Police Officer First Class James Sadler, an eight-year veteran of the department. According to the department, both officers fired their weapons.

The shooting occurred after Shifflett and Sadler chased Johnson on foot from the mall after receiving a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store.

Body-cam video from one of the officers shows him catching up to Johnson. Police said that after yelling at Johnson to “get on the ground,” two officers fired their guns. One shot struck Johnson in the chest, killing him.

Johnson had stopped running and was crouching, police said.

Johnson's mother, Melissa Johnson, said officers shot her son when all they knew at the time was “that he was Black and male and had allegedly triggered an alarm from a store for some sunglasses.”

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